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Mythical Feline Figures in Java’s Early Islamisation Period (Fifteenth to the Early Seventeenth Centuries)

Sinitic and Vietnamese Imprints in Pasisir Art

Bibliographic Data

ID15952641
AuthorsHélène Njoto (École Française d'Extrême-Orient, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume73
Issue1
Pages41-60
Publication date2018-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueArts asiatiques (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-3958 • E-ISSN: 2111-4552
PublisherMaisonneuve (PUBLISHER • FR)
DOI10.3406/arasi.2018.1992
OpenAlexW2921733810
LanguageEN
Citations received2

This essay investigates foreign imprints in Java in the early Islamic period through a motif primarily found on the island’s north coast (ca. fifteenth–early seventeenth centuries): the mythical feline-like figure. This motif knew a brief success in the mausolea decor of significant Muslim rulers, some of whom are known as Java’s early proselytisers of Islam. I argue that these Javanese feline figures are reminiscent of a Sinitic and Vietnamese iconography illustrating the syncretic nature of early Javanese Muslim elite’s material culture. Furthermore, this essay demonstrates how the Javanese stylisation of these mythical feline figures seems to be manifest of this period’s double paradigm : while the Javanese slowly converted to Islam, Muslim foreigners adopted their culture

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Elite · Fifteenth · Iconography · Islam · Java · Linguistics · Literature · Motif (music · Period (music · Politics · Vietnamese · Asian Studies and History · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Philosophy

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Citations per year0.29
Citation span2019 - 2025 (7)
Highly citedNo

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