The dark tone of mahogany wood is lavishly accentuated with luminous golden leaf paint. Ading designs this handsome saron (a type of xylophone), also called gangsa jongkok. It is the basic melodic instrument in the gamelan, an energetic orchestra at the center of Indonesia's art-music tradition. The importance of the gamelan goes well beyond the pleasure of music and into the realm of ritual ceremony; each instrument in the ensemble is considered a work of art and an object of devotion.
