KETOET GEDE, SINGARAJA, A MAN WHO STEALS A PIGLET IS BITTEN BY A DOG
LOr. 3390-143, bottom
Drawing on Dutch paper, watermark Concordia, countermark VdL., 22 x 34,5 cm
A group of four men deals with two animals. On the far right a man holds a female pig in both hands. He runs to the right with it while looking back. He is bitten in his right leg by a male dog standing at the bottom of a tree. Three men stand on the left, looking at the man on the right. Two of them are holding another man standing in the middle. This person brandishes a sword, ready to use it.
A text in Balinese script at the top left says: ‘’puniki né ngelah kucité, kapaling, ngembus kris’’, this is the man who owns the piglet which has been stolen. He draws a kris. At the bottom on the right is written: ‘’maling kucit caplok cicing’’, the piglet-thief is bitten by a dog. A kucit is a young female pig.
The men represent ordinary, real people. Their faces are very lively and express human emotions. It is not improbable that the scene refers to a song sung in a theatre performance.
