Study of Illustrated Javanese Manuscripts – Challenge and Mastering in the Digital and Covid era Serat Panji Jayakusuma Manuscripts

Abstrak

In search of a means of coping with conducting research during Covid-19 pandemic, the paper raises the question to what extent digitized material allows easier access compared to field research. The paper focuses on a concrete topic - a comparative study of illustrations in three manuscripts of the Panji Jayakusuma story - and discusses the variety of approaches. The three manuscripts are kept in the following archives: Perpustakaan Nasional Republik Indonesia (The National
Library of Indonesia) in Jakarta; British Library in London; Staatsbibliothek Berlin. The comparative study of the illustrations of the Panji Jayakusuma tales shows the pluses and lacks of using digitized materials as research objects. The comparison of the illustrations covers iconography, style and the selection of depicted scenes by focusing on certain motives covering ships, fighters, and lovers. Digital access allows a detailed and easy comparison which goes beyond the
research in the libraries in situ and opens new potentials, while at the same time there is a loss in experiencing materiality.