Specifications

• Height: 42,5 cm
• Material: wood, brass, ijuk, hide
• Position: 
• Gender: 
• Indigenous name: topeng
• Price realised: € 8.000,- hp

Provenance

Leendert van Lier, Blaricum; Christie’s, Amsterdam 14-4-1997, lot 102; Private collection, The Hague; De Zwaan, Amsterdam 5-11-2019, lot 3460.

Publications

Ref. Lorm, A.J. de & G.L. Tichelman (1941), Verdwijnend cultuurbezit. Beeldende kunst der Bataks, plate XXIV.

Additional information

Masks were emplyed during funerary rituals of high ranked members of Toba Batak society. This item is exemplary of masks used during the late 19th and early 20th century as witnessed on photographs. Nature and culture are present in this mask: ijuk and hide and manufactured brass as a token of accomplishment.

Photo credits

De Zwaan, Amsterdam