page_title: Candi bentar
section_title: Form
hierarchical_section_title: Candi bentar / Form
caption_attribution_description: Wringin Lawang (lit: The Banyan Tree Gate), the 14th century grand split gate, made from en:red brick material with ground size 13 x 11 meter and height 5.5 meter. Located at short distance south of the main road at Jatipasar, en:Trowulan, en:Mojokerto, en:East Java. The type of this gate is called "Candi Bentar" or split gateway, a type of structure which suggested appear during the Majapahit era. Most historian agreed that this structure is the gate of an important compound in Majapahit capital. Speculations concerning the original function of this majestic gateway have led to various suggetions, a popular one being that it was the entrance to the residence of en:Gajah Mada.
context_page_description: Candi bentar, or split gateway, is a classical Javanese and Balinese gateway entrance commonly found at the entrance of religious compounds, kraton palaces, or cemeteries. It is basically a candi-like structure split perfectly in two to create a passage in the center for people to walk through. The passage is usually elevated with a flight of stairs to reach it. A candi bentar is commonly found in Java, Bali, and Lombok.
context_section_description: Candi bentar has a candi-like form but split perfectly in two to create a symmetrical image. Candi bentar characteristically has a stepped profile, which can be heavily decorated in the case of Balinese candi bentar. The two inner surfaces are always left sheer and unornamented, as if the structure has been split in two. 
  There are several different styles of candi bentar, from plain red bricks structure of Majapahit-style with its derivations of Cirebon, Demak, Kudus and early Mataram Sultanate style, the stucco-coated split gates of Kaibon Palace in Banten also in city of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, to the richly adorned split gates of Balinese temples and palaces compound.
  Other than narrowing the passage, candi bentar do not serve a real defensive purpose, since this type of split gates are originally designed not to have doors. Additional iron fences are seldom to never installed in the passage, if so they usually added later and not part of the original design. The symbolism of a candi bentar is unclear. Candi bentar probably only serve for aesthetic purpose, to create a sense of grandeur before entering a compound.
caption: Wringin Lawang split gate at Trowulan, one of the oldest surviving candi bentar.
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