Aso grave keeper, Kayanic Dayak, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indones - Lot 67

Lot n° 67
Go to lot
Estimation :
3000 - 5000 EUR
Aso grave keeper, Kayanic Dayak, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indones - Lot 67
Aso grave keeper, Kayanic Dayak, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia 18th - 19th century Wood H. 36.5 cm; L. 46 cm We enclose its CIRAM dating certificate, n°1220-OA-614Z. Provenance : Alexandre Bernand Collection, Paris, France The Dayaks are a group of proto-Malays living in the inner part of Borneo, related to the Batak of northern Sumatra, the Filipino Ifugao and various tribes from Timor, Sulawesi, Sumatra and the Moluccas. Their statuary, mainly dedicated to the protection and commemoration of an important ancestor, warrior or powerful guardian spirit, was discovered at a pioneering exhibition organized by Philip Goldman in 1975 at London's Gallery 43. The symbolic protective function of this Aso guardian sculpture is matched by the aesthetic importance of the treatment of the sensory system: the ears for hearing, the eyes, the imposing gaze keeping a watchful eye to chase away evil spirits or keep disease and epidemics away from the community. The imposing presence of the face, whose features are stylized and sculpted in geometric forms. The triangular face, projected forward, juts out in relief from a recessed neck. Two large ears in the shape of thick, hollowed-out circles enliven and invigorate the whole, while subtly responding to the incised circular shape of the eyes, whose pupils are thickened. The mouth and nose are adorned with abstract, vegetal motifs evoking the animal kingdom or the supernatural world of spirits. Carved from very hard, thick Belian Eusideroxylon or Bornean ironwood, the erosion of time amplifies its imposing, defiant expression.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue