Rare megalithic ancestor figure "gowe ni’oniha", 2nd half 19th century ·  Indonesia - South Nias · ID: 3046019

Description

lime stone, base

Most megalithic sculpture is commemorative in nature, created to honour members of the nobility, a tradition inspired by the people’s strong belief in ancestor spirit worship. This stone sculptures are used to mark burial grounds or are simply placed outside houses to commemorate deceased family members.

The rest of an appendix on the head suggests that the figure originally had a sculptural top. But it could also have served as an architectural part of a house (base of a supporting pillar) to protect the inhabitants from evil forces.

This figure captivates with its clearly defined geometric forms, which make it appear surprisingly modern.

The object Rare megalithic ancestor figure “gowe ni’oniha”, 2nd half 19th century with the object ID 3046019 was last part of the auction 93rd Tribal Art Auction at November 16, 2019 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 40 achieved a sales price of EUR 8,000.

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.

Comparing literature

Barbier, Jean Paul & Douglas Newton (ed.), Islands and Ancestors, Munich 1988, p. 202, Plate 5

Notices

This object is subject to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Export documents are required for export (subjected to a fee).