"Hampatong" in the form of a feline · Indonesia - Borneo (Kalimantan Tengah), Dayak · ID: 3050365
not available anymore
Provenance
François Coppens, Brussels, BelgiumE. J. Philips, The Netherlands
Size
H: 135 cm
H: 53.1 inch
Description
wood, handwritten inventory no. “N-016” and collection plaque “Privé Collectie E. J. Philips”, base
Sitting cat-like figure with large fangs and formerly long tail, probably representing a clouded leopard. An anthropomorphic face appears between the fore and hind legs.
The figure was probably worked on a post. Probably an animal totem originally positioned in a place where it was supposed to scare off malevolent spirits and thus offer protection to people.
Comparing literature
Murray, Thomas, C-14 Dating of Dayak Art, o.O. 2015, ill. 44 Stöhr, Waldemar, Art of the archaic Indonesians, Geneva o.J., p. 96, Fig. 1