Talking to a stone carver in Batubulan Bali

Batubulan is the stone carving place in Bali. I went there today via some surface streets in Denpasar, but you can get there from Kuta using the Bypass to Sanur, turning off at Tohpati, then heading north towards Ubud. The main stretch of Batubulan is before the right hand turn off for Celuk, the silver center. The array of stone carvings lining the street is impressive. I stopped at a couple of places and went inside one to check it out and ask prices. Through a carved doorway I entered the home of Dukuh, a 50-year-old Balinese man who is an anthropology professor. We chatted and he told me about the carvings. Some of the cheap stuff outside was cement, but the better stuff was made from river rocks he said. He has seated Buddha's of all sizes and told me the best one was 16m rp. Others of similar size were 8m rp or 4m rp. I asked what determined the price and he said, the material and the beauty.

I asked him if all the rocks came out of the river what was the difference. He said it was like women, "You will pay 200,000rp for a pretty one but less for an ugly one." He was quite funny and kept saying "You will pay more for a pretty one." I then asked him why he didn't make them all pretty and he said basically some of the rocks have a much better texture and so the carvers take their time. With the regular rocks they tend to knock them out pretty quick. When visiting these places you definitely need to take your time and look around. Coming in here I had no idea how you gauge price other than size. Dukuh's family compound was beautiful and the whole time I was there his wife sat on the floor cleaning a little dog. His family temple is immaculate and the many statues and large open bale structures added to the whole traditional atmosphere.

Dukuh told me it would take a month to do a large carving. He himself is not actually a carver but can afford to sell the work of several people. He was a nice guy and not pushy.

Dukuh Antiques
Batubulan

(0361) 298592