Carved architectural panel, island of Nias. - Lot 336

Carved architectural panel, island of Nias. Large rectangle adorned on one side: in bas-relief, a bust-shaped anthropomorphic figure bearing a stylized pair of antlers on its head; the figure is surrounded by two other pairs of antlers. The whole is contained within what appears to be a halo, surmounted by a haloed pillar, finely incised. The pillar ends, at the bottom, with a zoomorphic figure in high relief: a cat lying face down, holding a lotus flower bud in its paws. On either side of this animal, in bas-relief, are two birds, one on top of the other, and an ornate bag, pinned with a floral-headed nail. This panel is an architectural element, probably a door (for a rice granary?). The Ono Niha, the indigenous people of the island of Nias, are known for their richly decorated architectural elements such as doors. Missing and cracked, old patina. Ono Niha (inhabitants of Nias), Nias Island (Indonesia). Dimension: 107 cm high, 44 cm wide Estimated dating: First half of the 20th century (or earlier?). Provenance : Ex private collection (Nouméa) Acquired from previous owner by G. Ronseaux Selective bibliography : - Lorraine V. ARAGON & Paul Michael TAYLOR, Beyond the Java Sea: Art of Indonesia's Outer Islands, 1991, Harry N. Abrams Inc (publisher) ; pp. 69-96 - Jean-Paul BARBIER & Douglas NEWTON (eds.), 1988, Islands and Ancestors. Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia, Prestel Verlag; pp. 34-49. - Douglas NEWTON (ed.), 1988, Arts des Mers du Sud, Barbier Mueller & Adam Biro; pp. 22-33, specifically, p. 25, fig. 4. Corpus for comparison: - Lot 55, Thierry de Maigret, Paris - Sept. 30, 2022 - Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (Paris), 70.2001.27.260.