As the years progressed and more and more tourists visited Java, the new breed of tourists were not interested
in the very large expensive silver pieces that the original Dutch colonists wanted. Instead they were more interested in
relatively inexpensive souvenirs of their visit. The silversmiths obliged.
These spoons are 800 purity silver and show various types of wayang puppets.
These pieces are 4.5" to 5.5" in length
Some of the bowls are leaf shaped and some are more conventionally shaped
I particularly enjoy the one with a fish shaped head and the farmer with a hoe
see the detail picture of the two left hand spoons below
More examples of spoons designed to appeal to tourists (800 purity silver)
These are very interesting wayang puppets (800 purity silver)
The silversmith was making fun of the White Tourists and I suspect that the tourists who bought these spoons did not even realize that they were the object of derision.
In a typical Java wayang puppet, the 'good' characters all have a small waist, eyes are pointed down and the nose is pointed down in a gesture of humility.
However, in these pieces the eyes and nose are pointed up in a haughty manner.
Of course the very large stomach and large 'rear end' as well as the prominent belly button were an obvious poke at western bodies.
Also note the unusual hair style.
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