Candi Panataran (Temple complex), Main Temple; rear of the same dvarapala, decorated with a scene from the Tantri fable 'Crocodile and Bull', Panataran, Blitar district, East Java province 1323-1347, Indonesia Possibly 1867

Captured by Isidore Kinsbergen, this photograph shows the rear of a dvarapala, a temple guardian, at the Panataran temple complex in East Java, dating back to the 14th century. The sepia tone and the play of light and shadow across the stone texture give it a sense of temporal distance. Notice how the composition is vertically oriented, emphasizing the monumentality of the sculpture. The dvarapala's form is robust, its contours softened by time. The artist's focus on texture—from the spherical details of the headpiece to the narrative frieze depicting the Tantri fable—invites a semiotic reading. These details serve as signs, encoding cultural narratives within the stone. The Tantri fable itself, etched into the dvarapala's form, functions as a metaphor for the complexities of power and deception. Kinsbergen's photograph, therefore, does more than document; it captures a convergence of form and narrative, inviting us to consider the interplay between aesthetics and cultural meaning.