Cuspidor

[A. G. Maisey]

This bird form is an element of design in a number of motifs, you will find variations of it in many of the semen motifs such as semen merak, semen wregu, and semen lungka.

Each motif is made up of various elements, and I do not know the name of each individual element in each traditional motif. There are hundreds of traditional motifs, and even more design elements within each motif. The naming of each design element, and any story attached to that design element would be a very specialised field of study, and one that I have not seen illuminated even in specialised texts on the subject.

The other notable design element in this cuspidor is the repetitive triangular tumpal motif.

Probably the best references for Indonesian design motifs are books dealing with batik.

The tumpal motif is said to represent plenty, by its association with the pyramid rice mounds at slametans --- it is a very old motif, and the various semen motifs are symbolic of a garden.