Where to find finely crafted wood carvings?

[Mickey_Sg]

Hi there,

I'm the guy who posted the original request for info on wood carving, and I eventually managed to find what I wanted, so I thought a follow-up would be useful.

I always thought if I go to the villages famous for wood carving, that I'll be able to a) get a good deal b) ensure that the artist gets paid well for his work by going direct to them. Win-win right?

So off we went to Mas & Kemenuh, driving around the small lanes looking for signs. Most of the 'galleries' seemed to cater to the tour bus type crowd. Large compounds, obviously belonging to wealthy families with a massive inventory of carvings, probably all on consignment, and uniformed sales staff all waiting to pounce.

It is very interesting of course because you get to see the whole gamut of wood carvings from the sublime to the ridiculous. They had some incredibly inticrate three-dimensional friezes of traditional dewa-dewi type scenes, with detail so fine you can only shake your head in wonder. These pieces had price tags of USD$2000 - 3000!! Bargaining hard seemed relatively fruitless, they would concede a bit, maybe 20%, but they stuck to their prices.

I felt pressured by the highly skilled salesmen in these places, so I politely thanked them and left. Once you've seen the good stuff though, its hard to look at the cheaper stuff. Heading back down the main street of
Mas, i checked out the small scruffy shops on the roadside, and discovered that I could spot the better quality stuff pretty easily, thanks to my experiences in the expensive galleries.

Prices in these dusty shops were easily half that of comparable pieces in the galleries. We managed to buy a couple of good pieces at reasonable prices that the shop owners seemed to be happy with too.

(I don't like to bargain so hard that the poor shopkeeper is barely making anything - it should be good natured and everyone happy in the end)

The next day we were at Tanah Lot, and whilst killing time waiting for the rain to stop, we wandered round the market at the entrance to the temple. There's hundreds of stalls catering to the tourist hordes. Prices are very competitive as I think they are mostly surviving on the domestic tourists from other parts of Indonesia, rather than the westerners, japanese & korean holidaymakers.

We found quite a number of wood carving shops, some with very high quality pieces at even better prices. We didnt buy any more because we already had more than we could possibly carry. But it just goes to show, I think, that 'going to the village' may not always be the best strategy, and you may find the best selection and the deals in the touristy spots where it's insanely competitive.

Thanks to all of you who chipped in with info and tips. I didnt get to all the places you suggested due to time constraints, maybe next time!

PS I did manage to get to Keliki Kawan, but I'll save that story for another thread!!!

Thanks very much again
Take care
Mick

[Roy]

Great story Mick, and thanks for sharing how it all worked out for you. What would be great is if you could post a few photos of some of the pieces you were able to buy, and the prices you paid.

I’m looking forward to hearing how your visit to Keliki Kawan worked out. Cheers!