When the gong kebyar composition first appeared in Northern Bali with the avant-garde villages such as Bungkulan, Jagaraga and villages at its vicinity in 1915, No one ever dreamed that this genre of Balinese gamelan become the most favorite kind gamelan to be played by women. As a matter of fact at that time no one would ever dreamed that Balinese women have any chance to play gamelan.

In the past, gamelan is a privilege for men and the involvement of women in the realm of art was restricted in dance and drama performance area. However, in the last three decades, it is important to note that there has been a significant democratization process within the Balinese art world. Women begun to be given wider chance to participate in every genre of Balinese traditional art; and nowadays the once male-dominated art world has been transformed into free for all art domain.

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The historical period of Bali is divided into three sub-periods which includes :

a. The Ancient Period ( 800 - 1343 AD)

The collections from this period that are displayed: stupika, the miniature of a stupa (Buddhist temple) made of clay and there is a stamp or tablet inside. The tablet is written with Pranegari script in Sanskrit language containing Buddhist mantras. A great number of stupikas were found in Pejeng village and Tatiapi, Blahbatuh village (Gianyar) which can be traced back to 800 AD, and it was the first writing ever found indicating the beginning of Bali history. Also displayed findings of this age of stone and bronze statues (arca) such as : Arca Dewi Tara, Arca Manjucri and others as the media for worshipping the divined king’s spirit. Trading system had also been going on in that period, proved by the remains found such as : gold and silver currencies and perforated Chinese coins. Photographs of architectural remains from the period are also displayed such as : Gunung Kawi temple, Gua Gajah/Elephant cave and Yeh Pulu temple.

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