Sajen, Jean,
Thank you for your contributions. From what I understand, the situation for the branggah style is analogous to that of the gayaman, i.e. the court styles (Solo, Jogya) are highly developed and elegant while the East Javanese styles are cruder copies of these refines court styles.
What I find interesting now is that it appears that in East Java the common style for gayaman wronkos is modelled on the Solo style while the ceremonial wrongkos (branggah) are derivative of the Jogya style.
Does anyone have any knowledge or theories on why this is? Why don't we see both styles being used (Solo gayaman and ladrang derivatives as well as Jogya gayaman and branggah derivatives)?
And relatedly, why is it that no local designs were developed in East Java? Madura features the East Java-type branggah - and possibly also the East Java-type gayaman - but also developed different styles unique to Madura. Were there less skilled craftsmen in East Java possibly? Was it too much of a backwater (Madura had 1 or 2 courts which would have contributed to finer and more refined wrongkos) without the presence of local courts? Or did people consider Solo and Jogya as paradigms of Javanese culture worthy to be emulated?
A lot of questions, and I hope we can slowly but steadily find some answers!
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