Numerous earthenware sculptures and decorative objects have been unearthed in the environs of Trowulan (or Trawulan), the former capital of the Majapahit Empire (1292–1527) in Eastern Java. A distinctive and substantial genre of the extant works are the hollow cylindrical pillar covers used to embellish the bamboo or wooden poles supporting the roof of open pavilions (pendhapa). The ornamental pillar covers are often graced with graceful figures of women carved in relief in various postures and engaged in mundane activities.
The LACMA pillar cover has a woman seated amidst Chinese-style foliage and rock formations. She wears large circular earrings and a sarong. She has a pensive expression and sits in a contemplative pose with her legs crossed and her right hand, grasping her left elbow. The bamboo-shaped cylinder is plain on the backside with a rectangular opening.
Comparable pillar covers are in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (AK-RAK-1966-2 and AK-MAK-1169); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1992.151 and 2009.321); Museum Nasional, Jakarta (6076); and the Trowulan Museum.
See A. J. Bernet Kempers, Ancient Indonesian Art (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), p. 99, pl. 322; H. R. A. Muller, Javanese Terracottas: Terra Incognita (Lochem, The Netherlands: Tijdstroom, 1978), pp. 87-89, pls. 166-171; and Jan Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia (Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1990), pp. 279-281, nos. 104-105. See also M.83.117.1–.2, M.85.279.2, and AC1993.239.3.