Quote:
Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
The gold work is a generic design that is quite common across Indonesia, the triangles are what we call "tumpal" --- it might be of interest to research this motif, it is important --- the tendrils and other design elements occur again & again across many regions.
The gold work is not inlay, it is kinatah, a form of ornamentation that can be applied in several ways, but is similar in appearance to Indian koftgari work.
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Thank you for a well thought out reply, as always. I will double back on my tumpal research, start over, reassess, and try to understand more. I know that they are old from before the Hindu conquest and later came sometimes to symbolize lotus petals with different themes incorporated into the panels. It seems that sometimes in the Sumatran context they had flames in the petals, and I have always wondered about that.
I misidentified the gold work. I thought that there were keyed channels cut under the work similar to Moro inlay.