Comparative Study of Jepara Carving Design in the Era of Islamic Kingdom and Colonialism Era

Jepara carving experienced the transition of three major cultures, namely Hindu-Buddhist-Javanese to Islam and Islam to the Dutch colonial period. This research uses case studies in the form of artifacts created in each of these periods. In the Demak Kingdom era, the Bledeg Door carving design was used in the Kalinyamat Kingdom era, the Kalinyamat Mosque wall ornament carving design was used. In the Islamic Mataram Kingdom era, the Gong Senen carving was used, while in the colonial era or Kartini era, the Kartini Jewelry Box carving design was used. This research hopes to provide answers and analye whether during these cultural transitions there were significant changes to Jepara carvings, then whether these 3 major cultures had an influence on changes in Jepara carvings and what factors influenced the changes in Jepara carvings. One of the conclusions of this research is that the artifacts made during the golden age of the Islamic Kingdom of Mataram (Gong Senen) do not reflect Islamic culture at all, but instead the principles of Islamic teachings are present in the overall symbolic value of each motif.


INTRODUCTION
Jepara has known carving since the time of the Hindu Kingdom (Majapahit).As (Gustami, 2000:55) stated, the beaches of Jepara, which served as a port in the past, encouraged cultural contact between the culture of traders and the culture of the local community.One form of cultural contact is the emergence of carving art which later developed into carving crafts in Jepara.
During the transition from the Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom to the Islamic Kingdom at that time, the art of Jepara carving experienced a very rapid development, both in terms of production design and motifs.The forms of carving in this period are also found on weapons, such as krises and spears, tombstones, mosques, palaces, musical instruments, including gamelan, and puppets.However, there is a slight difference in the carving motifs during the Islamic period, carvers in the Islamic Kingdom period Visual Communication Design Journal, Vol. 7 No. 2 (December 2022): [74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86] no longer carved living creatures as in the previous era.This is because in the teachings of Islam, people are prohibited from painting or carving living things or humans.From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Jepara carving experienced the transition of 3 major cultures, namely Hindu-Buddhist-Javanese to Islam and Islam to the Dutch colonial period.For this reason, this research hopes to provide answers and analyze whether during these cultural transitions there were significant changes to Jepara carvings, then whether these 3 major cultures had an influence on changes in Jepara carvings and what factors influenced the changes in Jepara carvings.So that later this research will be able to become literature which answers questions related to the changes in the design of Jepara carvings during the Islamic Kingdom era and the colonialism era.This research is also a case study research, to make it easier to compare Jepara carving designs in each period studied, case studies are needed in the form of artifacts created in each period.In the Demak Kingdom era, the Bledeg Door carving design was used, in the Kalinyamat Kingdom era, the Kalinyamat Mosque wall ornament carving design was used, in the Islamic Mataram Kingdom era, the Gong Senen carving was used, while in the colonial era or Kartini era, the Kartini Jewelry Box carving design was used as a case study.

Demak Kingdom Era (1478-1546)
Demak was the first Islamic sultanate on the island of Java founded by Raden Patah in 1478, shortly after the collapse of the Majapahit Kingdom (Ngationo, 2018:17).
In its heyday, Jepara was part of the Demak sultanate.Jepara, which was a port city in a bay, was considered safe for ships to take refuge in, therefore Jepara also functioned as a trade and shipping center for the Demak sultanate.Moreover, Jepara harbor was also the military port of the Demak Sultanate (Supriyono, 2015:31).
During the reign of the Demak Kingdom, carvings which were left behind can generally be found on the wall ornaments of mosques and gebyok ornaments, such as the Great Mosque of Demak.The mosque, which was founded during the reign of Raden Patah, is a complex surrounded by a fence with several gates on each side as access in and out of the mosque.(Purnamasari, 2014:75-76,97) stated that on the pillars supporting the Mosque, including the sokoguru, there are carvings which still show the beautiful Hindu-style carving style.In addition to the carvings on the pillars, there are also wood carvings

Kalinyamat Kingdom Era (1549-1599)
Before the collapse of Demak Kingdom, Sultan Trenggono, who was the ruler of Demak at that time, appointed Raden Toyib (Sultan Hadirin) as the Duke of Jepara.
Raden Toyib or Sultan Hadirin was later married to one of Raden Patah's granddaughters named Retno Kencono.In the political upheaval of the Demak Kingdom, Sultan Hadirin was killed by Ario Penangsang, so that the power of Jepara at that time was replaced by Retno Kencono who was later titled Kalinyamat Queen.
In the 16 th century AD, Kalinyamat Queen succeeded in raising Jepara to become one of the most important capitals and ports on the North coast of Java.
The most prominent carving heritage of the Kalinyamat Kingdom era is the carved ornaments on the walls of the Mantingan Mosque.The wall ornaments on the mosque built by Kalinyamat Queen have motifs such as floral (flowers, plants), animals, geometry, and so on.(Gustami, 2000:8) said that on the walls of tombs and mosques in Mantingan, there are animal-shaped ornaments which have been composed and disguised in stylized Arabic calligraphy forms, interspersed with tendrils of leaves and flowers so that the embodiment no longer shows a picture of living things.In the field of ornamental art, this way of creating ornaments is called stylization.

Era of Islamic Mataram Kingdom (1600-1742)
Although the Kingdom of Jepara had declined after the death of Kalinyamat Queen and the destruction of the Kalinyamat Kingdom, it did not mean that the port of Jepara no longer functioned.Jepara's role as a city and trading port was now taken over by the Mataram Kingdom.(Supriyono, 2015:27)  sultanate, and also oversaw other coastal areas such as Jepara, Gresik, Tuban, Rembang, Pati, Kudus, Surabaya, Pasuruan, and so on.
The most prominent carving relic of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom era is Gong Senen.Gong Senen is the name given to a gong musical instrument which also has a support (gayor).Gayor is a support, generally made of teak wood, its function is as a support or a place to hang the gong so that it can still stand.While the core part is the gong itself, in which the gong is one part of an ancient Javanese musical instrument called gamelan.The general function of the gong is to provide one of the sound colors in a series of gamelan musical instruments.Generally, gongs or other gamelan musical instruments are made of a mixture of copper and bronze metal, then formed in a circle with a certain depth and diameter, forged to produce the desired tone and there is a circular protrusion at the top as a place to hit the gong.

Dutch Colonialism Era (1742-1942)
In the 18 th century, the center of government was moved by the colonial authorities from Jepara to Semarang.The move caused the port of Jepara to suffer a severe setback, although eventually the city of Jepara retained its status as a regency city.
Later, in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries, Jepara rose again in the international arena with the emergence of Raden Ajeng Ayu Kartini as a figure in the women's emancipation movement.Brilliantly, the young Kartini succeeded in laying the foundations of the struggle for her people.At that time, Kartini also thought about educational issues and the future of her nation, including paying great attention to the welfare of small people.One of Kartini's most prominent concerns was her great concern for the activities of artists and craftsmen, especially those who worked in the field of carved furniture.Kartini's great concern has aroused the spirit of carving craftsmen to work hard, although the struggle was only successful and could be enjoyed by the craftsmen after a long process of growth (Gustami, 2000:4). of the temple Roro Jonggrang panel or more famously called Candi Prambanan and also found in the Gong Senen ornament.Then, the element which changes is the use of teak wood as raw material, which is replaced by yellow solid stone as raw material.

Analysis of Change Events
Furthermore, the new element is the use of yellow solid stone material as the carving medium, as well as the presence of geometric motifs which resemble Islamic art styles.Meanwhile, the elements which are maintained are typical Hindu-Javanese motifs such as floral and kala (sengkolo) motifs, the way of depiction which is composed or stylized, carvings have symbolic and aesthetic meanings with carving dimensions in the form of low relief and the use of penuku, penilap, and kol inlay.Based on the discussion of the equalizing and differentiating factors in the previous section, certain indications can be drawn which occur in each artifact in each period.

Indication of Transformation Process
In the first artifact (Bledeg Door), the indication is that the ornamentation is dominated by Hindu-Javanese motifs, as evidenced by the crowned dragon head and jambangan motifs.The dragon head is also a sengkalan or condrosengkolo (typical Javanese) which reads "nogo mulat saliro wani", which means it shows the year 1388 Saka or 1466 AD.The crown motif is a typical king's crown worn by Majapahit kings (Hindu-Javanese), and the jambangan (vase/flower pot) motif is evidence that the Hindu-Javanese style still dominates.In addition, the depiction of living creatures (dragon head) which is composed or stylized is also evidence that the ornament has been adapted to the teachings of Islam. In

CONCLUSION
Some conclusions which can be obtained from this research include, first, in the period of the 15 th to 16 th centuries, in Javanese history was a transition period of two major cultures, namely Hindu-Buddhist-Javanese to Islam.The lack of availability of historical data and archaeological sites make it difficult to reconstruct the history of that period.In addition, it also makes every historical study not a few which become debates among historians.
Secondly, although the end of the 16 th century until the middle of the 18 th century was the peak of the Islamic Kingdom (Mataram) ruling in Jepara, it did not mean that Islamic teachings were fully applied in Jepara carving art.This is evidenced in the Gong Senen ornament, in which there are still motifs of living creatures depicted/carved in a naturalistic way, in which this way of depiction is contrary to Islamic teachings.
Thirdly, the Gong Senen artifact, which was made during the golden age of the Islamic Kingdom of Mataram, does not reflect Islamic culture at all, but the principles of Islamic teachings are present throughout the symbolic values of each motif.
Finally, many influences from outside cultures such as China, Islam, and others came to be one of the factors which influenced the changes in the design of Jepara carvings, both during the transition period between Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic times and

Visual
Communication Design Journal, Vol. 7 No. 2 (December 2022): 74-86 attached to the walls of the Mosque which function as decorations.The entrance to the Great Mosque of Demak is located in the center as a link between the portico of the Mosque and the main room of the Mosque.The door is called the main door or lawang bledeg or lightning door.Lawang bledeg at the Great Mosque of Demak has two carved door leaves.The carving motifs found on the door are in the form of plants, crowns, and dragon heads with open mouths and showing their teeth.Lawang bledeg made by Ki Ageng Selo during the reign of the Sultanate of Bintoro III is considered to have similarities with reliefs during the Singosari and Majapahit periods, but is different in terms of philosophical meaning.

Figure 1
Figure 1 Change event timeline graph (Source: Author)

Furthermore
figures carved in a naturalist manner, the reappearance of the jambangan motif, and the dimension of the carving in the form of translucent carving or krawangan.Meanwhile, the elements which are retained are the typical motifs of Hindu-Javanese art such as floral and kala (sengkolo) motifs, the way of depiction which is composed or stylized, the carvings have symbolic and aesthetic meanings with carving dimensions in the form of low relief and the use of penuku, penilap, and kol inlay.
addition, the ornaments have symbolic and aesthetic functions.The dimensions of the ornaments are low relief or bas relief carving, and have motifs of mythological creatures (dragon head), flora, cosmos (tongue of fire) and symbolic objects (crown, vase) The ornamentation on this Bledeg Door has a style or way of depicting stilation on each motif.While the technical ornamentation is passive ornamentation.

Figure 2
Figure 2 Bledeg Door picture and its transformation process indication

Figure 3
Figure 3 Mantingan Mosque ornament picture and its transformation process indication

Figure 4 Figure 5
Figure 4 Gong Senen picture and its transformation process indication

Table 3
Transformation process indication table (Source: Author)