Basreliëf op het pendopo voetstuk aan de westzijde van Candi Panataran. Possibly 1867

Isidore Kinsbergen made this photograph of a bas-relief on the pendopo pedestal on the west side of Candi Panataran. Kinsbergen, who was born in the Netherlands, actively contributed to the colonial gaze through his photography in the Dutch East Indies. The photograph depicts a series of narratives carved into stone, likely from local folklore or religious texts. These relief carvings would have been originally designed to communicate values, histories, and cultural identities to the community. Kinsbergen’s act of photographing the relief shifts its purpose and audience, contributing to a documentary record under colonial authority. The black and white image captures the textures and details of the relief, inviting us to consider the stories they tell, and the complex dynamics of cultural representation and preservation under colonial rule.