Basreliëf in de zuid muur van de Borobudur Possibly 1873 - 1879

Editor: This photograph, “Basreliëf in de zuid muur van de Borobudur,” possibly taken between 1873 and 1879 by Isidore Kinsbergen, depicts a carved relief. I'm immediately struck by how much is happening. There's a sense of storytelling embedded in the stone. What can you tell me about it? Curator: It's remarkable, isn't it? Consider how visual narratives function within culture. This bas-relief, photographed from Borobudur, echoes the symbolic weight of Buddhist cosmology through repeated figuration, reflecting cycles and interconnectedness, with royal figures seated amidst more humble attendees. What memories and continuity does the photograph evoke for you, even from this distance? Editor: I see patterns and repeated shapes. The people, even in the upper register appear grounded. It looks like some kind of gathering. There are trees with circular bursts as crowns. Curator: Note how those patterns contribute to a sense of order and harmony, crucial elements in Buddhist philosophy. Are these groupings of figures and elements just aesthetic arrangements or signifiers of something more, maybe like levels of being? What narratives are unfolding in each framed layer of the relief? Editor: Hmm, maybe it is depicting hierarchical importance of each group? With rulers and noble people in the top row? Maybe even a depiction of a journey or life events for the people depicted? I like that! Curator: Precisely! Consider that the photograph itself acts as a filter. Kinsbergen’s lens isn’t merely capturing an image, but preserving a specific gaze. It helps to reveal layers of memory of culture for not only local Javanese culture but that of a larger, interconnected, even global community. Can photography serve as its own sort of cultural artifact in that case? Editor: That is true! Wow. It gives me a new appreciation for both the relief and the photo. Curator: It certainly reframes our understanding. Each symbolic gesture in this image whispers tales across epochs!