Paire de figures ancêtres "itara" · Indonésie - Timor oriental, île d'Ataúro · ID: 3052619
Prix d'appel
4 000 €
Prix d'Estimation
8 000 €
Provenance
Italian Private CollectionZemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany, 19 June 2010, lot 89
Erik Farrow, San Rafael, USA
Belgian Collection
Taille
H: 15 cm & 16 cm
H: 5.9 inch & 6.3 inch
Description
wood, pigments, plant fibre, base
The traditional woodcarving of Ataúro remained virtually unknown in the West until the early 1970s.
Carved in male–female pairs, the “itara” represent ancestral couples — the founders of specific families and lineages. The figures were kept, together with other sacred objects, in the “ruma-pera’ik”, the house of the tribal chief.
The role of the “itara” within the religious practices of Ataúro remains insufficiently documented. According to oral tradition, these figures were employed in ritual acts intended to identify thieves
Littérature comparée
Kjellgren, Eric, Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2007, p. 246 f.