This beautiful wood carving represents a praying woman. She is depicted in the typical Balinese prayer position with both hands in front of her forehead and a flower between her fingertips. Sacrifice is an important activity in Bali. It starts early in the morning when women make small offerings in front of their homes to please the gods. This continues throughout the day. The prayer in the form of a flower greeting is called Sembahyang. This word consists of two parts: sembah (bow, prayer gesture) and hyang (the one who is revered). The prayer consists of a mantra and is directed to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the supreme being in Balinese Hinduism.

Wayang style
The stylized posture, thin limbs, long fingers, big nose, almond-shaped eyes, curled lips and smooth wavy hair are style characteristics of the modern woodcarving style from the 1930s. Wood carvings from this period are often referred to as Balinese Art Deco because of the stylized shapes. However, contemporary art historians point out that many elements of this style were already present in Indonesian traditional arts and crafts. For example, the almond-shaped eyes, sharp noses and thin limbs are also visible in wayang kulit figures (leather shadow puppets). That’s why it is now also called the ‘wayang style’.

Read more about Balinese flower offerings in my Canang Sari post.