Ancestor figure "adu zatua" · Indonesia - Nias · ID: 3047772
Zemanek-Münster, 21 March 2015, Lot 7
Piet Lepelaar, Leiden, The Netherlands
Description
wood, pigment, base
The function, symbolism, and names of the “adu” are bewildering and knowledge of their specific uses incomplete. What is known is that they served as mediators between the supernatural and natural world of humans, by which the island’s inhabiantants communicated with and influenced the ancestors, gods, and spirits for two main purposes: to secure prosperity and blessings, and to protect against disease and disaster (Sibeth & Carpenter, 2013, p. 96 f.).
The object Ancestor figure “adu zatua” with the object ID 3047772 was last part of the auction 96th Auction at April 24, 2021 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 81.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on Asian art.