Squatting female ancestor figure "iene" with sacrificial bowl · Indonesia - Moluccas - Leti Island · ID: 3048509
Description
wood, shell, rest., missing part (nose)
These figures were to serve as homes for the souls of the deceased.
According to old reports (Riedel,1886) they were made by specialists five days after a death, which is the appropriate moment for the soul to enter the statuette.To attract the soul, the “iene” were placed on a gold plate, and wrapped in red cloth.
The figures were kept in the upper part of the house and worshipped daily with prayers and food offerings. They served as a link between the spirit world and the realm of the living.
The object Squatting female ancestor figure “iene” with sacrificial bowl with the object ID 3048509 was part of the auction 97th Auction on November 6, 2021. The object with the lot number 104 achieved a sales price of EUR 6,700 with an asking price of EUR 3,500.
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Comparing literature
Barbier, Jean Paul & Douglas Newton (ed.), Islands and Ancestors, Munich 1988, p. 316 Riedel, J.G.F., De sluik- en kroesharige tassen tusschen Celebes en Papua, The Hague 1886