Royal storage container

This painted box was probably used to carry sacred textiles or other valuables in one of the courts of southern Bali. Its paintings, made with traditional stone-ground pigments, are among the many that illustrate themes from an important series of stories also performed in traditional dance dramas. The Panji tales, originating in East Java in perhaps the twelfth or thirteenth century, were named after the legendary prince who features widely in them. Versions spread through much of Southeast Asia. Especially popular within the Balinese courts, these tales lost favor after the Dutch conquest.

In the episode illustrated on this box, a princess, Rangkesari, is kidnapped to become a wife of the king of Lasem, but she threatens suicide to avoid this fate. The king and his allies eventually enter into battle with Prince Panji and Rangkesari’s brother but are defeated.