Woodcarving from Mas — the Village That Taught Bali to Carve

Mas means "gold". Yet this small village just south of Ubud mines no ore — for generations its gold has been wood, and what local hands can draw out of it. Since the 1930s, Mas has been the heart of Balinese carving, the point where the island's craft crossed over into art.

A village where nearly every house carves

In Mas, carving is not a profession for the chosen few — it is the fabric of the village. Nearly every household is tied to the craft, and the skill passes from father to son. International fame came in the 1920s and 30s, when European artists — Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet — settled here and championed the local makers, sparking the movement that carried Balinese art out into the world.

Ida Bagus Tilem — the master who carved emotion

Mas was home to one of the greatest Balinese sculptors — Ida Bagus Tilem (1936–1993), son of the equally revered Ida Bagus Nyana. Tilem entered history as the first who, instead of fighting naturally twisted, misshapen wood, used its form to express human emotion in abstract shapes. At his peak he had more than a hundred students, and his sculpture represented Indonesia at the New York World's Fair in 1964.

It is an important lesson about craft: the master does not impose form on the wood, but listens to what the wood wants to become. The Balinese consider that sensitivity part of taksu — the spiritual energy a maker leaves in the work.

The wood matters

Not every wood suits every carving. The carvers of Mas reach for different species depending on what they are making:

• Nangka (jackfruit) — considered by the Balinese the finest wood for carving; it has a warm, golden tone and traditionally serves for religious figures.
• Suar (rain tree) — dark, with interlocked fibres that resist cracking; it is used for larger forms and statues.
• Waru (hibiscus) — white with pale grey, yielding distinctive two-tone carvings.
• Albesia — soft and white, most often used for smaller pieces.

Before a carver reaches for the chisel, he usually begins with an offering and a prayer to Dewi Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and the arts. Because in the Balinese understanding, the work begins not with the first cut, but with the intention.