During the 1930s, the themes became more realistic and commercialized, depicting such mundane subjects as animals, farmers, villages. Several old masters who made Balinese woodcarving famous throughout the world in the 1930s are still alive and working today in Mas. Their work is carried on by their families in traditional family compounds with carved doors and pillars, impeccably decorated and maintained, themselves fine examples of gorgeous Old Bali art and architecture.
They carve everything in Mas-weeping Buddhas, fishermen, Vishnu and Garuda figures, rice goddesses, yogi, roosters, herons, deer, prancing horses, key rings, chess pieces, and fruit trees (pulusan). Most master carvers are in fact designers, who make the original model or motif, which is then copied by a young team of apprentices. Pieces don't leave the studio without approval.
Typically, Mas carvings are smooth, unpainted, and made of the high-quality wood, but carvers also shape gnarly driftwood and tree roots into lizards, turtles, tortoises, abstract faces, fishheads. If you can't find what you're looking for, ask to see the inventory in back.
Look for detail: fingernails, toenails, fingers, muscle delineation, even hair. An artist signs and dates his important pieces. Telling the clerks you want to buy goods for export to America or Europe will drop prices. For the best prices, comb the workshops in the back lanes of Mas and not in the overpriced retail shops along the main road. (Gianyar Tourist Information)
