Puri Karangasem: Pavilions

Across the courtyard from the Maskerdam hall at the former palace of the Rajahs of Karangasem is a pretty pavilion, beyond which is a water tank that boasts a pavilion of its own.  

Here's a picture of the first pavilion.  Those who read the previous post will likely recognize it.  It's taken from the verandah of Maskerdam:

You can't see the water, but it's directly behind.  

Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of this first pavilion, nor, oddly, is it identified by name on the plan of the palace in the book about the last rajah that I bought.  The pavilion is beautifully panelled in what I assume is teakwood:

Note the mother-of-pearl embellishments on the ceiling.  The LED bulb almost blends in.  As at Maskerdam on the other side of the courtyard, the doors of this pavilion are richly carved in a style reminiscent of Straits Chinese style.  Here's a close-up of the carving:

Love, love, love it.  The style is definitely "Chinese" rather than Chinese.  It's effectively a tropical version of chinoiserie, the Chinese-inspired decorative style popular in 18C Europe.  I might even feature these doors on my other blog, Versailles Century, which you can find at http://www.versaillescentury.com.

The second pavilion, known as Gili Tengala, presides serenely over the water tank.  

The bungalows around the edge of the water tank are apparently still occupied by the last Rajah's descendants.  As mentioned in the previous post, the palace remains the private property of his family.  In fact, if you're not observant, you might accidentally stray into a private area -- not that anyone will reprimand you.  I was charmed by the "all areas access" feeling of the place.  

The function of this pavilion was not explained onsite, but I'm going to guess that it's a good place for a gamelan orchestra to set up.  It's probably also a cool place to lounge in the late afternoon.  Indeed, my friend thought it was a good place to take a break:

The bridge to the pavilion is quite narrow.  Here's a view in the opposite direction.  The grounds are well-kept:

This pavilion, too, is decorated with tropical chinoiserie features:

This concludes the tour of the main courtyard of Puri Karangasem, but we're not finished yet.  I have more photos of the other courtyards, so stay tuned.  

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