Lot 104
Hamidah Suhaimi
b. Singapore, 1935 - d. 2015
Budak Melayu, 1996
signed and dated (lower right)
pastel on paper
72 x 52cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Kuala Lumpur
ESTIMATE RM 18,000 – 32,000
PRICE REALISED RM 20,000.00
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Tradition dies hard, and this seems more prevalent in rural areas. Urban centres tend to have more techy percussion instruments whereas one can expect natural sounds from musical instruments used in the kampung, and for more sacred and ceremonial rituals. And the two-headed gendang, a membranophone combined usually with a gamelan orchestra, is a favourite among traditional Malay communities in Malaysia and Indonesia. The Indians use a somewhat similar instrument called the mridangam. The Malays have a strong aptitude to musical instruments, traditional and modern, and in (Tan Sri) P. Ramlee movies, one can find the violins being popular. As the somewhat extreme Malay adage goes, ‘Biar mati anak, jangan mati adat’ (Let the child be sacrificed, but not the customs (culture). The boy in resplendent pink-orange baju melayu with a mandarin collar looks all set to drum up some rousing beats for the occasion. Hamidah Suhaimi, like her husband Mazli Mat Som, was already accomplished in portraits in the 1990s but took second fiddle to Mazli probably because of gender bias. She made frequent trips down from Singapore where she was originally based, to take lessons from Dato’ Hoessein Enas of Angkatan Pelukis SeMalaysia. |