Product Description
Antique Nias Ancestor Figure 2
Material: Wood
Style: Central Nias, North Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 80 cm, Width 15 cm
Order Number: MHSANAF3
80-90 years.
Nias is an island located off the western coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Until the arrival of the Dutch Nias had one of the most vibrant warrior cultures of the Indonesian archipelago and their wooden ancestor figures have a distinctive style.
Most are nude with genitals, so that the gender is obvious, except for some in Central Nias, which are hermaphrodite and are usually standing. Those in North and South are more naturalistic, while those in Central Nias are angular. The aristocratic ones have tall crowns, pendant earrings, necklaces and bracelets. They were passed down from generation to generation.
They vary in size from 20 cm to 200 cm or higher and many were crammed into houses on the floor and on altars, hung from roof beams and placed on beams. Many were believed to hold the souls of the ancestors. Their purpose was to give fertility to humans and animals, provide protection and avert illness. The grander ones were for aristocratic families. They were given offerings and sacrifices, especially before headhunting or warrior raids.
Christian missionaries destroyed many ancestor figures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The most distinctive god statues are called adu horo. They have forked headdresses and are armless with large erect penises. They were consulted when blood had to be shed, as in war, murder and hunting.
He is standing. His arching eyebrows emphasise his eyes. He has pursed lips, beard, pectorals, cone-like nipples and knobly knees. He is nude apart from jewelry, a massive earring on his right ear and a coconut shell necklace called a kalabubu worn by headhunters. Capturing a head was an essential requirement of manhood and showed the young man was an eligible bachelor.
There is a kalabubu in the Mandala Collection, shown in Nias Sculpture, Achim Sibeth and Bruce Carpenter, Red and White Publishing, 2013 on page 254
Please ask for the price (or make an offer).
