Specifications

• Height: 32,4 cm.
• Material: wood, metal
• Position: squatting
• Gender: male
• Indigenous name:
• Price realised:

Provenance

Ben Tursch, Brussels 1978; Fred & Rita Richman, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. nr. 1987.435.5

Publications

Hersey, Irwin (1980), ‘Indonesian Primitive Art’ in Arts of Asia, September-October: p. 83; Capistrano-Baker, Florina H. (1994), Art of Island Southeast Asia: The Fred and Rita Richman Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 98-99, no. 48; Kjellgren, Eric (2007), Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp 247-249, no 146.

Exhibitions

Additional information

Although rather small in size, it is monumental in appearance and one of a corpus of statues showing the capability of local artists. Acquired locally in the early 1970s, this statue most probably hails from the late 19th Century.

Notice the small hole in the upper part of the crown where a section originally had been attached. The male sex is prominent, symbolising fertility and capacity.

Photo credits

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York