Pusaka heirloom jars of Borneo

• Main Author: Harrisson, Barbara V. 1922- (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Oxford University Press 1991
• Series: Oxford in Asia studies in ceramics
• Subjects: Storage jars > Themes, motives > Borneo; Pottery > Themes, motives > Borneo
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 "The great stoneware jars of Borneo, which form the treasured heirlooms (pusaka) of many Bornean households, are very much in vogue amongst Western and South-East Asian collectors who today help to sustain a trade in them which has been one of great significance and profit in the region for centuries. However, surprisingly little is known about these jars, their significance or their provenance. In this study, for the first time the secrets and mysteries of these ceremonial jars are unravelled. The jars are studied by means of reference to the modes of production, to the literature on the subject (particularly that from the nineteenth century), and to archaeological finds. From this three-angled approach a composite picture emerges which shows their origins, establishes a classification of jar-types, and reflects many facets of popular Bornean culture as revealed by the trade in jars, their history and the lore which surrounds them."