Traces of Turco-Persian influences in Malay woodcarving motifs on vernacular buildings in Terengganu

Woodcarving is considered as one of the highest forms of art in Malay culture. It is an essential aspect of traditional vernacular buildings in the archipelago region as it carries intrinsic meaning while symbolizing status. Despite this, the artistic influence apparent in Malay woodcarving is not fully understood in a holistic manner, in which the Turco-Persian elements are often neglected despite being visibly apparent. The reason for this is previous Malay art researchers are unfamiliar with Turco-Persian elements in Islamic art as compared to Buddha-Hindu elements which are more easily identified. Therefore, the art history method is adopted in this study to analyze the motifs used in vernacular palaces and houses of royalties dating from the 19th and 20th centuries CE in Terengganu. The objective is to identify the Turco-Persian influences and know the type, name, characteristics and stylization of the motifs to help better understand the formation of traditional Malay Islamic art in a comprehensive manner. This is achieved by analyzing and comparing the identified motifs within the context of Turco-Persian motifs used by Turkic dynasties in the Eastern Islamic lands that have a historical connection with the Terengganu region. Findings from the analysis discovered several Turco-Persian motifs in traditional Malay woodcarvings. Except for Muthanna, these motifs are the seven modes of abstract Islamic ornamentation known as haft aṣl that are commonly found in the Eastern Islamic lands on architecture and particularly in Qur’an illumination (tezhib). This indicates that the Turco-Persian tradition has a significant influence on the artistic formation and stylistic development of Malay woodcarving in Southeast Asia and not just Buddha-Hindu and Chinese elements as believed before.