A Javanese Islamic low wooden circumcision ceremonial chair.
Java (Indonesia), 19th century.
This teak wooden chair, low and wide with its original rattan seat, played a ceremonial role in Java. It was used during the circumcision ritual of a young Muslim boy. The tradition may have extended to other parts of the Malay world, influenced by Javanese migration. After the circumcision, the boy would sit on the chair, honored as though he were royalty for the day.
Its low height was suited for a child, while the wide seat allowed him to sit comfortably with his legs apart, preventing his sarong from touching the wound.
Supported by four turned legs, the chair combines practicality with symbolism. The backrest features a delicately carved floral roundel in low relief, with an openwork frieze below with carved stylized flowers, symbols of fertility. The shape of the upper part of the backrest echoes a design of Mount Meru, the mythical mountain home of the gods in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology—a tradition that predates the arrival of Islam in the region.
Lit:
Brinkgreve, F., & D.J. Stuart-Fox (eds), Living with Indonesian Art: The Frits Liefkes Collection, Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, 2013, pp. 160-161, ill 172-173.
Ref:
A related example is in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, Accession No. 2018-01190.
Dimensions:
Height 53.5 cm, width 49.5 cm, depth 34 cm.
Condition:
The legs are a bit loose which causes the chair to be lightly wobbly, the openwork frieze on the backrest with a small blackened part which is probably an old restoration, a small piece of rattan to the right side lost.
Inv. No: MW123
