Figural frieze "adu bihara"
Indonesia - Nias
sold
EUR 3,000
Provenance
Heinrich Sundermann, Ladbergen/Göttingen, GermanySize
L: 151 cm
H: ca.19 cm
L: 59.4 inch
H: ca.7.5 inch
Description
wood, bamboo, rattan, greyish brown patina, 62 wooden sticks with indicated (“adu zatua”) heads, with rattan fixed to wooden strip, sticks partly missing, dam.;
long strings of sticks made of different types of wood called “priests” figures (“adu bihara”) consist of 50 to 100 finger-sized pieces of wood. The row is kept in the roof beams of a novice priest’s house. The “adu bihara” are used ritually as they are dwelling places for benevolent spirits. They also serve for a practical purpose by acquainting the priest with the types of wood from which images are made (there are up to 30 types of wood used for the images).