Balinese Painting and Sculpture: From the Krzysztof Musial Collection

This beautifully photographed book of Balinese Painting and Sculpture is one of the most stunning collections of its type in the world. Collections usually grow out of interests, ones that come to border on obsession. Collecting art from Bali often begins with a love of the island itself, but can take different directions depending on the experiences we have there. The Krzysztof Musial Collection is one clearly based on encounters with the island and its culture, and from that basis the collector has accumulated works that are both new and old, representative of the known history of Balinese art, but also of the most recent developments in the style of Bali. The older styles of art were focused around areas of power, palaces and temples. Art was consumed by the competing Balinese kings, who strove to make their palaces the most beautiful and ornate on the island. Likewise these many kings, queens, lords and ladies dressed in the most lavish textiles, from imported Indian cloths to loca