This scarce original antique print depicts Topeng Dancers and a Band on the island of Java, Indonesia. Lithograph with original delicate hand coloring entitled: De Topeng Babakan

This print by Ernest Hardouin comes from the rare 1855 first edition, and is larger than the later editions published around the year 1872. A unique collectors item for those interested in early prints of Indonesia.

Ernest Hardouin arrived in Batavia on 20 September 1842 as a decor designer with a French theatrical troupe. In Batavia he made numerous sketches and drawings of Batavia and its inhabitants. In 1846 he applied to the Government for permission to travel in central Java in connection with his interest in art and painting, he was given permission to go only as far as Semarang, which he had already visited briefly in the previous year. Some of the plates after his drawings suggest that he may have traveled in west Java and the Priangan, and also, judging by some plates, possibly in South Sumatra as well. Hardouin did not live to see the work published - he died in poverty in Batavia in 1853 (or January 1854, as stated by Haks and Maris).

Author: Wilhelm Leonard Ritter (1799-1862) traveled widely across the Malayan Archipelago and is regarded as one of the most prolific 19th-century writers on the Dutch East Indies. Published in: W.L. Ritter’s Java, Tooneelen uit het Leven, Karakterschetsen en Kleederdragten van Java’s Bewoners ( Java’s residents, their peculiar characters and their clothing ) Very suitable for framing.

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