A Nias 'Adu Zatua' wooden ancestor sculpture

About the Item

Indonesia, Nias, 19th century H. 37.5 x W. 10 cm Sculptures like the one present are not only decorative items but are believed to be vessels that house the spirits of ancestors and are used to communicate with them. After the death of a person a wooden image or Adu Zatua was made to mediate between the human world and the spiritual realm. These kinds of figures were commissioned by noble Nias families, whereas simple and lesser quality carvings generally were found among lower class families. In this particularly fine example, the sculptor has paid careful attention to the proportions of the different parts of the body, dividing it into three main sections – the head, the torso, and the legs. The shapes are sometimes flat, round, or have notches, but all are perfectly in balance creating a certain divine tranquillity. This Adua Zatua’s ears are decorated with earrings, and it is wearing a headdress, pointing towards a chiefly provenance. In 1914 the Dutch gained complete control of the island of Nias and started spreading Protestant Christianity. Many ancestor statues were destroyed during the ‘Great Penitence’ religious movement in 1916. As symbols of the old religion of ancestor worship they were seen as blasphemous idols. The Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1976) joined his friend Jaap Kunst in March 1930 for a visit to Nias, where Kunst studied the indigenous music. Impressed by the island which remained unspoiled, Bonnet stayd there for almost a year, living with a Nias servant and making many drawings of the people of South Nias. What shocked him, however, was how the Christian mission, in his opinion, was destroying the culture and many of the traditional practices and the heritage of Nias. For a mesmerizing portrait of a Nias warrior by Bonnet, made during his stay on Nias, see: Uit Verre Streken, November 2022, no. 37 (ill.). Provenance: Henk Kouw, Amsterdam (1970s) Collection Peter van Drumpt, Amsterdam Collection Tijs Goldschmidt, Amsterdam Private collection, the Hague (1993)

Dimensions:

Height: 14.77 in (37.5 cm)Width: 3.94 in (10 cm)Depth: 3.15 in (8 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Wood,Carved

Place of Origin:

Indonesia

Period:

19th Century

Date of Manufacture:

19th century

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.