Palace door

Gateways with elaborately carved doors are prominent in Balinese palace compounds. Three sections of this door are covered with flowers and curling tendrils distantly related to the scrolling peonies of Chinese blue-and-white ceramics and other decorative arts. Amid these tendrils in the middle section can be seen winged lions, and in the lower section a fierce creature’s face common in HinduBuddhist art. (Several examples can be seen in Gallery 10 next door.) Technical examination of this door shows that it was shaped without the use of saws. The patterns of wear under the bottom edge and elsewhere suggest many years of use.