A survey of Javanese terracottas can, of necessity, only result in an uncom- plete picture of this art, as the work has to be based on material collected more or less haphazardly. While controlled excavations producing material for stylistic and comparative studies, as well as the discovery of relatively numerous inscriptions, have provided an oppertu nity for a fairly accurate reconstruction of the development of Javanese sculpture in stone, in the case of terracottas these two important sources of information are not available, references in publications are scarce.
The author has been in the fortunate position of having had acces to a large collection of terracotta objects, excavated in and around the village of Tra- wulan, Eastern Java, the site of the former capital of the kingdom of Maja- pahit.
Over the years a large number of terracottas were discovered as a result of agricultural activities, the construction of roads and irrigation canals or occasional excavations, such as that undertaken with a view to reconstruct the plan of the city of Majapahit.
Although the digging at Trawulan was carried out in a most amateurish and unsystemactical way, the presence of the glazed import-ware among the locally made terracottas helps in dating the latter and throws an interesting light on the foreign influences which may have been active at the time of their production.
The kingdom of Majapahit played an important role in Java and the neighbouring countries for a considerable period. It succeeded the kingdom of Singhasari, which was eliminated in 1292 by a Chinese expeditionary force sent by Kubilai Khan and assisted by the future king of Majapahit, Prince Vijaya, better known under his later official name Krtarajasa.

Although Majapahit was situated rather far from the sea, it played an important role in the whole of South-East Asia, dominating not only the Indonesian Archipelago, but also the surrounding countries. Via Malacca it extended its sphere of influence into Thailand, with wich it had commercial and cultural contacts. The same was the case with Annam and the other countries in Further India. On the other hand, the cultural life of Java underwent the impact of the contacts with China under the emperors of the Mongol or Yiian dynasty, Kubilai Khan (1280-1294) and his successors, who regarded the Javanese kings as their vassals.