Southeast Asia, Philippines, Luzon Island, Ifugao culture, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. This is a large hand-carved wooden guardian figure known as a bulul with a lovely dark patina. This figure is male, standing upon an integral pedestal with a flat top and incised triangular zig-zag motif etched into the side. The stylized nude body is customary with bulul: delineated legs revealing petite male genitalia, broad shoulders, and arms to the sides. The head is large with a squared face, protruding nose, incised mouth, and recessed sockets with relief eyelids and pupils, creating an attentive appearance. The large ears have piercings for additional earrings or adornments and the head is rounded and smooth as if bald. Bululs are abstract representations of ancestors that were created to serve as protectors of the rice crops and were placed outside to watch over the fields. Size: 9.5" L x 8" W x 21" H (24.1 cm x 20.3 cm x 53.3 cm)
Sculptural art in Ifugao is not just decorative, but also crucial to the wellbeing of the community. Traditionally the men carve sculptures like this, and women weave colorful textiles. Bulul, carved from a single piece of wood and representing the human body in a stylized form, are often in male and female pairs, and ritually consecrated with pig or chicken blood, and then placed into rice fields and granaries, where they function as guardians.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, 1995 to 2010; ex-John Richardson collection, Massachusetts, USA; ex-Hingham collection, Massachusetts, USA
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#171723
Condition
Old inactive insect cavities and losses on base and underside of base. Abrasions and stable fissure on verso of figure. Chips to ears. Nice patina throughout.