Jepara’s economy has been in its golden age for decades, but is now almost entirely devoted to wood products. While the 1998 Asian financial crisis opened up export markets, the 2008 global recession created a slowdown and turning point for local buyers.
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) scientist Herry Purnomo has studied this field for years, encouraging the use of legally certified timber and supplying it for the benefit of many of Jepara’s SMEs. Rebuild the chain. Nearly 30% of the Japanese economy depends on furniture. When furniture disappeared from Jepara, so did the sculpture culture. Wood carving and furniture making are very important to Jepara. They need resources, and those resources are trees, especially teak and mahogany.
Last year, the Indonesian Timber Legal System (SVLK) was the first system to be approved globally under the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license. This license allows legal timber and its derivatives to easily enter the European market. The community hopes that this permit will be useful for small Jepara businesses. It is no exaggeration to say that the economic life of Jepara revolves around wood and wood crafts. City streets are lined with logs that can be lifted and unloaded from trucks, women carve intricate designs at roadside stalls, men cut and measure teak planks, and various pieces of furniture, large and small. It is sold in the store.
The advantages of Japanese works include Jepara furniture which fits many design styles, and Jepara furniture is more durable. Jepara teak wood has a higher quality than teak produced abroad. Because of its durability, this furniture is very popular with furniture collectors. The older you are, the higher the price. And most importantly, Jepara Furniture is more water and termite resistant. The main problem with wood furniture is quality, which is prone to flooding and termite attacks. Water can form furniture materials, but termites like to eat wooden furniture. Fortunately, Teak Gepara contains natural oils, so it is resistant to these two things. Finally, Jepara crafts have a wide selection of very beautiful carvings.
The type of Jepara statue that is very popular in the market is the Makara statue. This type of statue is very unique because it combines two different religious cultures, Islam and Hinduism. Makara is a Hindu mythical creature in the form of a combination of two animals, such as an elephant and a dragon. In this myth, Makara is believed to be the vehicle of the goddess Ganga and the god Barna.
Also, this type of bird is a statue, and the pattern resembles an image of a bird surrounded by beautiful leaves and flowers. Bird motifs are not only beautiful, but also have a long history. RA Kartini once sent this frame-cut artwork to the National Exhibition of Women’s Work or the National Exhibition of Women’s Work in 1898.
And a Japanese statue on the shutter. The Kripyak window is a window with a shutter in the middle. There are jalousies in horizontal and vertical forms. The function of the curtains is to regulate the circulation of light and incoming air. The windows are decorated on all sides to make it more beautiful. This type of window is widely used in the tropics. And this sculpture is the beginning of Jepara sculpture which is already well known abroad. The best recommendations for Jepara wood can be found by looking at the characteristics of the wood materials commonly used for kediri woodwork, such as teak, mahogany, trembesi, or sungkai. At least to make sure, so that potential buyers can get the best furniture according to what they want. because not all Jepara furniture is domiciled in Jepara, for example there are stores or Sorum which have branches, for example in Jogja, Solo, Jakarta, and other cities, or perhaps as their suppliers.
