Panel "tulangan bilou" ·  Indonesia - West Sumatra, Mentawai Islands · ID: 3033870

Description

wood, middle brown patina, decorated with the high-relief carving of a monkey (black gibbon), arranged frontal with hanging feet and symmetrical limbs, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks, paint rubbed off, on metal base;
such carved panels used to decorate the wall of a “great house”, called “uma”. Until recently, the traditional “great houses” were constructed without the use of a single metal nail, everything held together with pegs. About thirty meters long, ten meters wide, and six meters high, the “uma” is raised on stakes in such a way that the habitable floor stands a full meter above the ground.

The object Panel “tulangan bilou” with the object ID 3033870 was last part of the auction 71st tribal art auction at November 24, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 10.

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Comparing literature

Newton, Douglas (ed.), Arts of the South Seas, München, London, New York 1999, p. 36 f. ill. 4