The Wooden Beam (Dhadha Peksi) of the Lasem Jami Mosque: Traces of European Influence in an Early Modern Islamic Context

This study examines a carved and inscribed wooden beam, called Dhadha Peksi, which was once a structural component of Lasem’s historic mosque, now known as Masjid Jami, in Rembang Regency, Central Java. By analysing the beam’s enigmatic inscription and intricate floral motifs, this article explores several hypotheses regarding its dating. Through a comprehensive philological and art historical approach, this study demonstrates that the Dhadha Peksi beam is one of the last surviving non-Chinese material witnesses to Lasem’s pivotal role in the expansive commercial and cultural networks that connected coastal Javanese towns to Batavia and beyond in the early 18th century.