The art history of Indonesian Banteng stamps

Abstract

Revolution stamps are stamp collections published in 1946 that commemorate the first anniversary of Indonesia’s independence. Before the revolution stamps, the circulation of stamps in Indonesia was owned by the Dutch and Japanese. This revolution series was chosen for this research topic, especially for ‘Banteng’ stamps. This study was conducted to find the meanings of the stamps of a revolution series. The method used was qualitative with an iconographic and iconological approach. The results of the study revealed that the primary meaning of the stamps is the real meaning of breaking the chain containing the expression of force. The secondary purpose is the expression of power, embodied symbolically in themes and concepts. Finally, the intrinsic meaning of this stamp is the life of the Indonesian people during the revolution, which was filled with conflicts of struggle. Thus, the use of themes and concepts of the expressions of strength is presented symbolically to motivate the people to defend Indonesia’s independence.

Keywords

• revolution series
• banteng stamp
• meaning
• iconography and iconology
• Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology College of Arts and Social Science, Ghana
• History of Art