20th C. Indonesian Wood & Horn Buffalo - Art Loss

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Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 18, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-03-18 10:00:00 2021-03-18 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian | Tribal | Oceanic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-tribal-oceanic-6520
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• Lot Description
  Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Sulawesi Island, Toraja people, ca. 1960s CE. A magnificent and sizable carved-wood sculpture of a water buffalo known as a kabongo. Standing upon its two front legs, the massive beast displays a colossal head with annular eyes, a square snout, incised nostrils, and a straight mouth adorned with a circular motif, all flanked by two dramatically swooping horns from a real buffalo. The creature's thick body features a large hump, which is characteristic of the animal, and liberal remains of black pigment. Examples like this impressive sculpture are used to decorate the facade of a Toraja ancestral house called a tongkonan and indicate that one of the highest forms of funeral rites has been performed there for an elite member of the house. Water buffaloes are central to the culture of the Toraja peoples; not only do they serve as currency and symbols of status and wealth, but tongkonan houses, with their curved and extended rooves, are said to have been modelled after the form of the buffalo. The brutish beasts are also traditionally sacrificed as part of Torajan funerary rites, as they are believed to help the deceased on their journey to the afterlife. The more powerful a person, the more buffalo will be sacrificed at their funeral. Size: 35" L x 38.5" W x 18.5" H (88.9 cm x 97.8 cm x 47 cm); 20.5" H (52.1 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The Toraja are one of the oldest ethnic groups in all of Indonesia, though they did not view themselves as an ethnic group until the early 20th century. The Dutch colonial government named the people "Toraja" in 1909 as a means of identifying which ethnic groups they controlled during the period of Dutch colonization. The word "Toraja" comes from the Bugis Buginese language term "to riaja," meaning "people of the uplands." Torajans are renowned for their elaborate funeral rites, burial sites carved into rocky cliffs, tongkonans, and colorful wood carvings.
  
  This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.
  
  Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, acquired in 2006; ex-James Baker, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #162918

  Condition

  Proper left horn and left leg can be detached. Chip to right foot and nose. Stable fissures to wood, as well as expected nicks/chips, scratches, and abrasions. Light wrinkling to bases of horns. Otherwise, very nice with liberal remains of pigment.
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