Buffalo head door ·  Indonesia - Sulawesi, Toraja · ID: 3047194

Description

wood, traces of weathering, cracks, base

These hardwood doors were used to seal burial caves, as the Toraja used to carve into the rocks for the mortal remains of their deceased.

The motif of the water buffalo symbolizes virility and suggests wealth and status for the Toraja. It is used universally, and appears in a more or less stylized form even on the doors of granaries or houses.

The object Buffalo head door with the object ID 3047194 was last part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction at October 24, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 12 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,200.

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Comparing literature

Barbier, Jean Paul & Douglas Newton (ed.), Islands and Ancestors, Munich 1988, pl. 34