The Cult of Engraving in the Halls of the Njana Tilem Museum

An ancient and precious art which captures, through the refined forms of carved wood, all the splendour and lustre of Bali, can be found in the monumental environs reminiscent of the ancient architecture of Majapahit. We are inside the Njana Tilem Museum, a pearl in the village of Mas, a few kilometres south of Ubud, beating heart of the Balinese spirit, known for its wood carving. The Museum, dedicated to the two famed Ubud wood carvers, Ida Bagus Njana and Ida Bagus Tilem, both pioneers of modern Balinese wood sculpture in the 1930s and ‘60s, holds a unique collection of works of the two master carvers, as well antiques, masks and paintings. Njana and Tilem, father and son, revolutionised Balinese wood carving. The first brought the simple lines of carving that depicted Balinese daily life to a new level, while Tilem used the naturally distorted forms in wood to express human emotions. Their family descended from Dang Hyang Nirartha, the great saint of Balinese Hinduism. Njana was instructed by the gurus of his same caste and was one of the last to receive a traditional education. Observing his father, an educated man and respected traditional architect and decorator, Tilem, just twelve, began studying wood carving after school. Today, their creations shine on in this museum - surrounded by a relaxing garden - where visitors marvel at the remarkably detailed work, with sculptures that reproduce religious motifs, dreamlike forms, Buddha and the lotus flower.