Online catalogue for the 58th tribal art auction

1 Pair of rice gods "bulul"

This object is not available any more.

Ifugao, Philippinen

wood, dull, partly encrusted greyish brown patina, a male and a female figure, each rising from a massive, indented base, their bodies nearly identical in shape: long legs supporting a flattened trapezoid upper part of the body merging into broad shoulders, flanked by free carved long arms, short necks with bowl-shaped heads on top, with simplified facial features and the chin "cut off" straight, drilled ears, min. dam., slight signs of abrasion, fissures; the "bulul" represent a class of deities associated with the production of bountiful harvests, capable of miraculously increasing the rice both before and after it is stored in the granary. Aside of this, "bulul" is in fact a generic term for types of consecrated images.

H: 62,5 resp. 64,5 cm, 19th century (5024/002)
H: 62,5 resp. 25.4 inch, 19th century (5024/002)

Provenance
Rudolf Kratochwill, Graz, Austria

Literature
Newton, Douglas (ed.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 154 ff.

Sold for: 1600 €

2 Rice god "bulul"

This object is not available any more.

Ifugao, Philippinen

wood, dull greyish brown patina, rising from a massive, indented base, short and strong legs supporting a flattened trapezoid upper part of the body merging into extremely broad shoulders, flanked by free carved long arms, crowned by an oval head with tribe-typical facial features, hole on top of the head, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, slight signs of abrasion

H: 38 cm, ~ 1900 (5024/001)
H: 15 inch, ~ 1900 (5024/001)

Provenance
Rudolf Kratochwill, Graz, Austria

Literature
Newton, Douglas (ed.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 156

Price: 600 - 900 €

3 Stone-lid of an urne

This object is not available any more.

Mindanao, Philippinen, Area of Lotabato Valley

chalkstone, a half-spherical vaulted lid, crowned by a human half figure, showing a cylindrical trunk with disc-shaped flattened shoulders, flanked by thin arms with the big rangy hands resting on the bowing lid, the spherical head with flattened facial plane dominated by deeply hollowed eyes, the mouth marked by a notched line, the short chin broad and flattened, slightly dam., minor missing parts, covered with moss

H: 40 cm, 15th-16th century (5024/003)
H: 15.7 inch, 15th-16th century (5024/003)

Provenance
Rudolf Kratochwill, Graz, Austria

Sold for: 700 €

4 Trophy skull

This object is not available any more.

Apo Kayan, Borneo (Ost-Kalimantan), Indonesien

human skull, coated with a clay-like blackish brown encrusted patina, the upper and lower jaw fixed by rattan strings, loop-like entwining the head, the split up rotan endings forming an abundant coiffure, on metal base; head hunting is one of the oldest rituals at all and was spread all over the world. Some peoples practised it until the beginning of 20th century. So did the Dayak (Borneo), the Naga (India), the Ekoi (West-Africa) and the Suhar (South America). The trophy skulls awarded social prestige and for the head being looked upon as the seat of vital force, the characteristic traits of the victims were said to pass over to the head hunter. In some ethnical groups young men first had to capture a head trophy in order to be looked upon as a man and become a full member of society.

H: 19 cm, (4658/001)
H: 7.5 inch

Provenance
Coll. August Flick, Cologne, Germany

Literature
Headhunters and Woodcarvers, from the Francois Coppens Collection, Aust.kat. Arnhem 2000, ill. 12, ill. 17

Sold for: 1600 €

5 Shaman ritual figure

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Borneo, Sarawak, Melanau, Indonesien

wood, stylized forms, sitting on a half-circular base, both hands raised up to the ears, giving the body a block-like contour, crowned by an elaborate head crest, the figure entirely coated with diamond-shaped ornaments on the back, inscribed "M-025", slightly dam., cracks (crest, face, leg zone and base), minor missing parts, on metal plate

H: 39 cm, (4658/002)
H: 15.4 inch

Provenance
Coll. August Flick, Cologne, Germany

Literature
B. Sellato, Hornbill and Dragon, Singapore 1989, p. 224

Price: 500 - 1000 €

6 Amulet figure

This object is not available any more.

Dayak, Indonesien

wood, shiny dark brown patina, kneeling on a rounded base, showing a block-like contour with the arms worked close to the body, surmounted by a round head with simplified facial features, on wooden base: such statuettes were made by the medicine man to ward off diseases.

H: 9,5 cm, (5002/006)
H: 3.7 inch

Provenance
Coll. Lüders, Stuttgart, Germany

Price: 600 - 900 €

7 Sword "mandau"

This object is not available any more.

Dayak, Indonesien

the hilt wrapped with plaited plant fibres, a horn knob elaborate carved with partly open worked figural and ornamental motifs, iron blade with skewed endings, a two-parted wooden scabbard wrapped in artificially plaited plant fibres, decorated with fine incised ornaments, a second scabbard stretched with leather on the back, containing a knife with a long wooden handle, endpiece of bone, plaited plant fibre cord for support, an amulet attached; used for head hunting and as a machete in daily life. According to a number of sources the small knife was used, among other things, to remove the soft parts of the enemies cut-off heads. The "mandau" is used by many peoples of Kalimantan and is widely spread.

H: 67,5 cm, (5005/003)
H: 26.6 inch

Literature
van Zonneveld, A.G., Traditional weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago, Leiden 2001, p. 87

Price: 2000 - 3000 €

8 Mat

This object is not available any more.

Dayak, Indonesien

rectangular form with "round" edges, plant fibre weaving, light-beige and dark brown, forming a checked pattern, one square inbetween bicolored, in good condition; mats were used for healing ceremonies and other rituals, as well as seats of honor for important guests.

M: 162 x 91 cm, (4999/013)
M: 162 x 35.8 inch

Provenance
Michel Blanc, Paris, France

Sold for: 450 €

9 Mat

This object is not available any more.

Dayak, Indonesien

plantfibre weaving, beige-coloured fond, plaited with a diagonal arranged checked pattern, at the rim provided with a pattern in curves and edges, achieving an extract like effect, in good condition

M: ca. 195 x 120 cm, (4999/012)
M: ca. 195 x 47.2 inch

Provenance
Michel Blanc, Paris, France

Literature
Johnson, Mark, Art Borneo, Marina del Rey 2008, p. 40

Sold for: 450 €

10 Small figure

This object is not available any more.

Atauro Insel, Timor, Indonesien

wood, shiny, dark brown patina, with long legs rising from an angular base, laid back pose, small shoulders merging into arms worked close to the body, the hands resting in front of the belly, crowned by an oval head, a deepened facial plane with simplified facial features surmounted by a three-parted headgear, slight signs of abrasion, on metal base; Atauro Island (also Pulau Atauro, Ataúro) is a small island situated 25 kilometers north of Dili, East Timor between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar. The name means "goat" in the local language, and is also known as Kambing Island (Pulau Kambing) by the Indonesians (Kambing means 'goat' in Indonesian).

H: 29 cm, (5014/006)
H: 11.4 inch

Price: 800 - 1200 €