Product Description

Tanimbar Altar 1 (Tavu)

Material: Bone
Style: Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia
Size: Height 18 cm, Width 29 cm
Order Number: MHST1

The Tanimbar Islands are located in the South Moluccas and comprise over 60 islands which are 135 miles long and 70 miles wide.

They depend on boats as their main transport.

Noble families create glorious stylised ancestor altars to deified and recent ancestors. The truncated, hourglass, inscribed body has wide outstretched arms in the shape of a curved boat.  The ears have hanging earrings. At the edges are curling finials of radiating hooks. These honour the founding ancestors and are adorned with jewelry.

The larger ones, more than a metre and a half in height, support the central beam of the house. This is the centre of the house where children sleep. The ancestors determine men’s hunting and women’s fertility. Family heirlooms also include skulls, bones and wooden effigies.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).