[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you very much for the additional information Gustav. All of this is in an area where I have very slight knowledge. I find particularly interesting the use of Chinese artists by the Portuguese, as to my eye the green sunggingan wrongko to a greater degree, and the tabletop to a lesser degree both display a Chinese hand.

I am not saying that I am any sort of authority on Chinese art, but I have been surrounded by Chinese art and references for most of my life, and I have a very close association with somebody who paints in Chinese style. It is impossible for me to escape the saturation effect of Chinese art.

Insofar as Javanese symbolism is concerned , the quote that
"the vertical image is concerned with the universe" can be accepted in some representations, but it would be quite incorrect to accept this as an overarching interpretation that can be universally accepted.

The dragonfly in Javanese symbolism can be interpreted in a number of ways, rather like a word that can have a number of meanings depending on the context in which it is used. It is a symbol of change, it connects air and water, it can be read as a symbol related to a warrior, but it can also be a substitution for a butterfly.

The butterfly in Hindu symbolism is a symbol of Brahma, Brahma is the creator so the butterfly can be read as creation, or in Hindu thought, as rebirth, but there is another interpretation in Hindu thought, and that is as married harmony, in fact in one of the Hindu wedding ceremonies ( I forget which one) the ceremony begins with the word "prajapati". Prajapati is equivalent to (but not the same as) Brahma, but it can also be understood as "butterfly", or as "king".

Butterflies and dragonflies cannot be understood as birds or bird substitutes, birds can be understood in a number of ways, depending on the bird. In Javanese symbolism in general, as a bridge between the upper realm and the earth, so as a line of communication with the dead, this can particularly apply with the cockatoo, but with the dove, as a symbol of love or lust --- I've always found this a bit humorous, as amongst birds, the dove is exceptionally vicious with its own kind, it is one of the few birds that will fight its own kind to the death, mostly birds only fight to achieve domination, but not the dove:- doves fight to kill.

Anyway, butterflies and dragon flies occupying the same iconographic niche as birds? No. Not in Jawa anyway.

The association of dragonflies with water is interesting when we consider the use of a dragonfly motif in association with a keris, because one of the symbolic associations of the keris is with water. The part of the keris that is most closely tied to water symbolism is the ganja, which is probably symbolically associated with Dewi Gangga, and when we enter this realm of symbolic associations we're really getting into very deep water --- so to speak. Note that the dragonfly appears at the top of an alas-alasan motif, in line with the position of the ganja when the keris is in the warangka. Note also that the butterfly can be understood as a dragonfly substitute --- and vice versa.

Lots of thought provoking stuff here. Don't have a nervous breakdown thinking about it.

The symbolism of the alas-alasan motif is that it represents the world.

In Hindu thought the whole world is a forest --- actually three different kinds of forest ---, to maintain our world we must maintain the forests, everything in our physical world is an aspect of the singularity of the Supreme Being, we respect the world and all in it, we respect the Supreme Being. The Ultimate Reality is everywhere, in everything, but in the forest representation we symbolise only this world that we live in, not the cosmos.

I've used the Hindu example here, but Hindu symbolism and thought patterns are vital in understanding Javanese thought patterns. They may not be the same, but they do seem to permeate much of Javanese culture and society.

I cannot interpret accurately the two birds symbol that we see so frequently. I have had many interpretations of this symbol given to me, and I have read many more, but there seems to be so much variation in what can be understood from this symbol that I hesitate to try to interpret it at all.