23

Iko, Serimpi Dibikin, ca. 1923-1925, teak, 58 x 21 x 14 cm, private collection. Photo: Joop van Putten.

Contains the inscription ‘Oleh Iko Tjimani 1923(5)’ which means ‘by Iko from Tjimahi 1923(5)’. The inscription of the date is not entirely clear but seems more like a three. In the context of this statue, Bikin could mean ‘made’ or ‘imitation’ (Indisch Wetenschappelijk Instituut, “Provisional word list for a “Kamus pecuk””). The entire inscription could then be read as ‘Serimpi made by Iko from Tjimahi 1923’. This serimpi also appears to be wearing a dodot with a variation on a parang pattern. The sampur is slung over the left shoulder here and could therefore be a serimpi sampir sampoer, which literally means sash over the shoulder (Helsdingen-Schoevers, Het Serimpi boek, 7). The statue is part of a private collection in the Netherlands and was purchased through the Dutch Marktplaats website in 2022.