Mask – Panji Ngaronggo Kusumo

Mask (ind. topeng) – Panji Ngaronggo Kusumo

Malang, Indonesia, polychromed wood, 2nd half of the 20th c., MAP 497

 

Wooden polychromed masks are used in Indonesia in theater and dance performances. This  mask presents the prince Panji – the main hero of the popular Panji tales from Java. These stories are always about a prince and a princess, about love and adventure. They can be rather complex, featuring masquerades, name changes, and incarnations. The latter is the reason for two additional names of the prince denoting the displayed mask – it is one of prince’s embodiment.

Prince Panji stories originate from Eastern Java and, due to their  flexibility which can be easily adjusted to fit local traditions, have spread across a large area from Indonesia to Malaysia and from Cambodia to Thailand.

 

Conservation process

 

On the occasion of the Monuments Conservator Day, falling on August 11th, we reveal the behind-the-scenes work on restoring the mask. The restoration work lasted almost a month. Its course can be seen on the pictures, and the final effect in the display case at the Museum’s hall.

The whole surface of the mask was covered with dirt and numerous cracks and splinters of the polychrome layer. In places where the painting layer was already missing, there were visible deep holes that were the result of insect feeding. After a more thorough analysis and cleansing purification of the mask, it turned out that almost all of the wood is cut by innumerable corridors and chambers created by… ants! When the restoration began, thanks to previous insecticide treatments, insects no longer were a real danger to the object, but their eggs still filled empty spaces in the wood. After removing the eggs and dead ants, all the cavities, including the corridors of this small “anthill”, were filled with putties, and the painting layer was carefully reconstructed.

 

The mask can be viewed in the Museum hall until 2nd of September.