Woodcarving in Jepara: smooth as silk, detailed as hair

By: Nasir Syar'an

Introduction

 

Woodcarving, art of shaping , ornaments, furniture, statues, relief and utensils out of wood by means of cutting tools, drills, and abrasives. Jepara name of cutting tools is tatah. (see tatah). Wood as a medium is light, supple, and workable; it has tensile strength, and separate pieces may be easily joined. It has the natural beauties of grain and variety of texture, although it lacks the weight, durability, and monumental quality of stone.

Woodcarving in Jepara: smooth as silk, detailed as hair

Jepara is woodcarving center in Indonesia. The wood carving center in Jepara is located on almost all sub district in Jepara, except Karimun Jawa. Dozens of showrooms, which are also used to give finishing touches to wood carvings, are available in this city center, especially Tahunan Street.  Jepara wood carvings furniture , which are identified by smooth as silk, detailed as hair, are displayed along this street.

 

Tahunan is center of Furniture Shop and Trader

You can also find unfinished products in every workshop in many subdistrict in jepara, those which have not been painted.  Workers in each shop usually give their final touch before sale.
It is three point of advantage recently that set Jepara as most competitive business in carved solid wood, include furniture, sculpture, and relief:

· Woodcarving expertness

· Near to solid wood material

· Wood Management

Wood carving expertness

About 80.000 carpenter have job to develop wood furniture industry which now become unique pledge of Jepara economics. Their expertness of wood carving is rooted in a long time.

In 7^th -9^th century, in Jepara Kalingga or Ho Ling Kingdom ruled Jepara society. In 674, Queen Shima as Queen of Kalingga do pioneer work, change the little city to be a port city. So, Jepara grow as port city. Many ship come from many area, for example India, middle east, China, Kamboja, West Europe. Jepara was to be busy city for trading, sailing, also learning, include learning woodcarving from many foreigner.

At Queen Kalinyamat period (1549 – 1579), Jepara rapidly grow not only as the main commercial port in Jawa Island, and also as naval basis either.(Jepara dalam Angka, 2006). She build Carve Art to her people. The Carve Art of Jepara is collaborated of Majapahit Carving with Patih Bandarduwung carving from Campa (Kamboja).

First point is Majapahit carving have influenced in Jepara. When Majapahit falls, hindunese carpenter and artist from Majapahit distribute to many city: Majapahit, Bali, Mataram and Jepara. They improved and adapted local motif. So, in the city have their own local motif. There are Majapahit, Bali, Mataram and Jepara motif.

Carpenter from Majapahit enrich Jepara woodcarving, so Jepara people have legend of wood carving that tell Jepara woodcarving skill is from Majapahit. See Legend of Jepara Woodcarving.

Second point is Patih Sungging Bandarduwung, vice regent of Queen Kalinyamat is carving artist and carpenter that come Campa ( Kamboja). He didn’t only enrich Jepara carving, but also influence Kalinyamat’s policy to build carving skill for Jepara people. His work is Mantingan Mosque and Kalinyamat mausoleum that has been preserved until now. His work is very complicated beauty and detailed.

Near to Solid Wood Material

Jepara is near to solid wood material, for example Teak, Mahogany, Yellow Ballow, Red Ballow and et cetera. See Indonesia woods characteristic.

Jepara near from best of the best solid wood, near from very good material. Wood that in good graces in the world is teak (tectona grandis). Teak (Tectona grandis) is a species whose timber is much sought-after in joinery, particularly because of the quality of its grain, its hue, and its resistance to various forms of rotand mould. Teak is strong but light in weight. Although teakresources were very plentiful to begin with,they no longer suffice to meet the very high demand from Asian countries, Europe andthe United States in a sustainable way. Best teak in the world is in Java, island which Jepara within it.

One of tree teak forest in the world is in Indonesia, which Java and Jepara within it. Teak forest is 1.1 million hectares in Java. Teak in the world is about 3.4 million hectares. Teak was introduced into the island of Java, for reasons both religious and economic, by Hindu monks, in the 14th century, with seed from India (IVAN BEHAGHEL , 1999). Here, teak found very good growing onditions. It regenerates naturally in several sites in the island, and so much so that at the turn of the century it was even thought to come originally from Indonesia. The Dutch iscovered teak in Indonesia in the 17th century and very swiftly started to log it intensively. In the early 19th century, rules restricting logging were drawn up, at the same time as Forest Management Centres were set up by the State, with an economic goal. These centres, which were at first answerable to the Ministry of Agriculture, became independent, and assumed a special status in 1961, with the name of Perhutani. In 1978, they formed two groups : Persero Perhutani on the island of Kalimantan, and Perum Perhutani, on the island of Java. This latter has become quite important and presides over the largest man-made teak forest in the world, totalling almost 1.1 million hectares, split into 650 000 hectares in production, in other words actively managed, and 450 000 hectares that are “protected”, encompassing fairly inaccessible plots that are not logged, and old plots that are unmanaged, and regenerate naturally.

 

Wood management

Woods is vulnerable to dampness, crack, fire, and the destructive activity of vermin and termite, especially if we deliver wood products from Indonesia to four season country. What must to be done?

Jepara has experience to sell woodcarving, furniture and sculpture to four season country. So they have accumulated knowledge to manage wood.

The first step in Jepara wood management is select suitable wood. So many kind of wood, kind of uses, kind of price. So every products have a goal, we must select material to meet the goal. See Indonesia’s wood characteristic, to see strength, gravity, and durability.

The second step is kiln dry to prevent crack. Wood is hydroscopic material, so this material is very ease to shrink. So, if wood is drying in kiln dry, it prevent wood from crack. That is why Jepara have many hundreds kiln dry to improve Wood Products.

Source:

Technorati Tags: Jepara is the best furniture city in the world

Jepara Dalam Angka 2006

www.gojepara.com

IVAN BEHAGHEL , 1999, THE STATE OF TEAK (TECTONA GRANDIS L.F.) PLANTATIONS IN THE WORLD

SP. Gustami, 2008, Industri Kerajinan Mebel Ukir Jepara