Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 7. (Budapest, 1964)
HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Kovács, György: An Illustrated Wayang Book
GYÖRGY KOVÁCS AN ILLUSTRATED W AYANG BOOK I. In one of his more recent articles 1 J. Goncla, Professor of Indology at the University of Utrecht wrote the following in regard to the study of medieval Javanese literature: Among the numerous products of the literary activity of the medieval Javanese there are many so-called k a k a w i n s, ,,works of k a w i s" (Skt. k a v i —, an author of a literary work characterized by definite qualities), most of which would be worthy of the attention of a larger circle of scholars and men of letters than the very few students of Javanese literature, a group of orientalists which is, at least in the West, regrettably on the verge of extinction. ..." Earlier, in 1961, P. J. Zoetmulder (Jogjakarta) wrote an article in the same periodical 2 on this topic : ,,The wayang or Javanese shadowplay, which, according to allusions to it in Old Javanese literature, has been popular since at least about 1000 A. D. and survived the various cultural changes of the supervening centuries, . . . has lost nothing of its appeal to modern Javanese society. So it is somewhat of a paradox, that the scientific study of this cultural phenomenon, interesting in so many aspects, shows such an astonishing amount of gaps. To take one aspect only: not before 1938 was there a translation available of a complete text as used by the d a 1 a n g in his performance. It was Tjan Tjoe Siem, who gave this in his doctoral thesis Hoe Kurupati zijn vrouw verwerft (Leiden 1938) and, thus, performed a very useful task Now, more than 20 years later, E. M. Uhlenbeck, Professor of Javanese at Ley den University, has published his annotations on Tjan Tjoe Siem's translation. ..." Here let us add that in the national or foreign literature available it was impossible to find pertinent references or analogies to the illustrations of 1 Gonda, J. (Utrecht): The Old-Javanese Rámáyana, an exemplary kakawin as to form and content. Book-review by C. Hooykaas. Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, afd. Letterkunde, Nieuwe Reeks, LXV. Amsterdam, 1958. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 82, No. 1. (March 15, 1962); p. 86. 2 Zoetmulder, P. J. (Jogjakarta): Aantekeningen bij Tjan Tjoe Siem's vertaling van de lakon Kurupati rabi. Door E. M. Uhlenbeck, met medewerking van J. Soegiarto. Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, dee] XXIX. 's Gravenhage, 1960. Book-review: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 81, No. 2. (June 15, 1961), p. 149.
