Very Old Teak Wood Tribal Door, Hand-Carved, Timor Island, Indonesia c. 1800

Hand-carved from Iron Wood this is a wonderful example of a Backstrap Loom, an essential component of Ikat textile weaving. The Curved section would fit around the weavers back not o...

This set of 3 mid-20th century mask were sed on the island of Madura for ceremonial purposes. The island of Madura is situated off the north-eastern coast of Java. This mask features...

A wonderfully hand-carved wooden panel with floral motifs from the Indonesian island of Madura, off the coast of eastern Java. This decorative panel once adorned a traditional Madura...

Sumba Island has maintained a megalithic tradition from the Neolithic times to the present day and is one of the few remaining truly megalithic cultures. Sumba Island Nobility and th...

Timor Island sculpted wooden traditional mask (circa 1970s) on contemporary metal stand. This is a traditional mask of a figure with male facial features and two holes as eyes and another for the mouth with a handle below the face. The island of Timor gave rise to a distinctive practice of creating traditional masks whose precise origins and significance remain uncertain. Portraying both male and female ancestors, they were held by men during dances and other ceremonies, including celebrations of victory in war. Carved sculptures and masks are specific to rural villages. Here the practice of animism, or nature-worship, is incorporated with the carving of ancestral statues and masks, which have a ritualistic function. Some occasions that call for these ceremonies may include asking for successful crop planting, for prosperity, for good weather...

Carved buffalo horn tattoo ink pot from Timor Island, Indonesia (circa 1940s-1950s) on a modern stand. The carving on this piece is very skillfully detailed at a level well surpassing most pieces from the region. A monkey grasps the ink pot as if it were climbing a tree trunk. On the forepart of the pot an ancestral or ritual mask...

Hand carved wood in a form of an elephant. No tusk

Ritual ladle of wood and coconut shell from Timor Island, Indonesia (circa 1950s). Intricate spoons and ladles were most likely used for large ceremonial feasts and offerings to ance...