10

Iko, Srimpi, 1914, presumably teak, 22 x 14 x 10 cm (no image available).

Offered on Catawiki in 2019 and sold in January 2020. The description refers to the dancer as Karna (high noble) depicted seated. The statue shows some minor wear on the front of the base. The back of the statuette bears the inscription “srimpi iko.” This indicates that it is a serimpi. On the Catawiki page, this figure was referred to as a “he,” but that cannot be correct in the case of a serimpi, as it is a form of dance performed by women (similar to the Bedajas). Considering the seated position of the serimpi, this could rather be one of the first four positions from the serimpi dance, after the dancers have entered and kneeled before the king, and the greeting, sembah, has been made several times (Helsdingen-Schoevers, Het Serimpi boek, 6, 16). On the underside of the pedestal, notes are written in pencil: ‘tjimahi 9 maart 1914’ (in teal), underneath that ‘voor rudi, de dames zijn al hebben al genoeg. Kus (subsequently an illegible name) 1 mei 1983’ (blue, probably ballpoint). The latter is probably a message from a later donor. How the statuette ever ended up in the Netherlands is unknown.