Kop van Javaan van Van Heutsz monument Batavia 1932

Hendrik Albertus van den Eijnde carved this stone head, "Kop van Javaan van Van Heutsz monument Batavia," sometime in the early 20th century. There's something so immediate about sculpture, you know? The surface here isn’t smooth and polished, but rough, almost like dry earth, it feels like it's been unearthed, or maybe eroded by time. It makes me think about the artist’s hand, the way the tool bit into the stone, each little gouge and scrape adding up. Look closely at the lines of the turban. See how they are not precise, but slightly wavering, suggesting the softness of fabric? It's a beautiful contrast. This piece reminds me of some of the ancient fragments you see in museums, bits and pieces of larger stories. It's like a conversation across time, isn’t it? Always evolving, always questioning.