Monumental Bali: Introduction to Balinese Archeology & Guide to the Monuments

by A.J. Bernet Kempers, Amir Sidharta (Photographer)

Monumental Bali describes a formative period in Balinese history through a study of the island's fascinating antiquities.

This classic work provides the key to understanding Bali's most famous monuments, including the "Elephant Cave" near Ubud, the "Royal Tombs" at Gunung Kawi, and the spectacular "Mother Temple" at Besakih. A comprehensive Guide to the Monuments section In 1956 Dr. and Mrs. Bernet Kempers returned to the Netherlands and began working in both Indonesian and European studies. Between 1958 and 1971, Dr. Bernet Kempers was director of the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Amhem, and was for a time professor of European Ethnology at the University of Amsterdam. Between 1970 and 1948 he revised Indonesian (including Bali) regularly in connection with research into ancient monuments and archaeological preservation.

Monumental Bali will not only be informative, but will also take the reader into the history behind each fascinating place found in province and islands of Bali.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Dr. August Johan Bernet Kempers was born in Holland in 1906 but spent the first 50 years of his life in Indonesia, from 1906 to 1956. During this time he worked as Royal Batavian Society (Jakarta Museum) librarian, as professor of cultural history and archaeology in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and as director of the Archaeological Service of Indonesia. These occupations were interrupted by the war in the Pacific and a three and a half year internment during the Japanese occupation.

In 1956 Dr. and Mrs. Bernet Kempers returned to the Netherlands and began working in both Indonesian and European studies. Between 1958 and 1971, Dr. Bernet Kempers was Director of the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem, and was for a time professor of European Ethnology at the University of Amsterdam. Between 1970 and 1984 he revisited Indonesia (including Bali) regularly in connection with research into ancient monuments and archaological preservation.

Dr. Bernet Kempers has published numerous books and articles on Indonesian archaeology, including Ancient Indonesian Art (1959), Ageless Borobudur (1976), Herstel in Eigen Waarde (on the preservation of Indonesian antiquities, 1978), The Kettledrums of Southeast Asia (1988), and Monumental Bali (Holland, 1978, and a revised and expanded version with color prints in 1991).

Reviews

[Ivo Nicolay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een goede inleiding tot de oude archeologische monumenten in het gebied tussen de rivieren Pakerisan en Petanu waar destijds het oude koninktijk Pejeng - Intaran lag. In deze covid periode een mooie gelegeheid om in mijn omgeving deze monumenten te bezoeken met de gids erbij.

[Roxanne]

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get in to this book. The subject matter is fascinating, and obviously Kempers has spent his life acquiring knowledge about this place, but something about the delivery just wasn't "user-friendly". Maybe it's because the original was written in Dutch and this is a translation? Maybe it's because it was written before the mass market archaeology craze started so the author didn't have that style established as a guide? Or maybe it's a case of the author being TOO knowledgeable to write a light introduction to the material? It feels like that's what this book was trying to be, but the author just had a tendency to go overboard--one example is the section on the archaeology of Bali, which starts out pretty general but then plunges into an in-depth analysis of the kettle drums of southeast Asia, most of which could have been distilled down to two sentences for the casual reader. And even with all that, I still felt as though I didn't have a good overall sense of Bali's history or archaeological relevance. I don't know, I really wanted to like this book, but it's almost as if it were purposely dense.

It seems like the most valuable part of this book is the guide to the monuments at the back, but I started at the beginning and didn't make it that far. If we do go to Bali on our honeymoon, I'll get this from the library again and take it with me, but otherwise, I'm not going to continue with it.

[Herald van der Linde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro for temple visits

Well written, also for non-experts. Lots of detail mad background. We used the book on visits to temples across Bali.

[eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indispensable reference and guide book about the history of Bali before Majapahit.