Iko & J. Schmuzter (design), Wooden statue depicting a Christian archangel in the guise of a Javanese (Hindu) deity, with accompanying wooden box, teak, 28.5 x 17 x 16 cm, Wereldmuseum, Amsterdam, inv. no. TM-5969-66b.
This is a smaller version of a praying angel carved in teak wood, like four others found in the Mission Museum in Steyl. Two of these were later carved in stone for the altar at Ganjuran, and two for the altar donated to the Vatican. This example was acquired in 2001 by the former Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, where it remains as part of the Wereldmuseum Collection.
(Collectie Wereldmuseum, “Houten beeld voorstellende een christelijke aartsengel in de gedaante van een Javaanse (hindoe) godheid, met bijbehorende houten kist.”). Susan Legêne and Janneke van Dijk describe the statue as the Archangel Gabriel in wajang style. This example is believed to have been made in Bogor (Buitenzorg) and originates from the estate of the priest Petrus Vertenten, who was a missionary in New Guinea. It was given to him before his return to the Netherlands, along with a photo album of Iko by Jos Schmutzer (KDC, ALFO-1081). Presumably, Vertenten made a stopover in Java on his return journey. The museum purchased it in 2002 from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Borgerhout. In the English-language catalog of the former Tropenmuseum, the statue is described as Archangel depicted as a Javanese wayang prince. This could be the (example) example Schmutzer donated to Mgr. A.P.F. van Velzen, but that is purely speculation! Source: Dijk & Legêne, The Netherlands East Indies at the Tropenmuseum, 119-120.


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