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Tharu tribal members from this area are nature worshipers. They worship many forest spirits and deities, including the forest goddess. Many of the most primitive tribes live in/near forests and near rivers. This shamanic mask was used in rituals, festivals and exorcisms by a village shaman. The…
Continue reading → - Item Number: M-0837
- Provenance/Origin: Terai Region, Morang District, Tribal, Nepal. Circa 1920 - 1940s
- Composition: Wood, beads, yak hair
- Dimensions: 10.5" tall x 6.5" wide x 4.25" deep
- Weight: 1.75 pounds
- Price: $ 475.00 USD
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The ethnic Zigula/Zigua are from the northern Pwani and southern Tanga Regions of Tanzania. Their art is poorly understood and frequently misidentified. They have a vibrant tradition of ritual carvings . . . such as their “mummy” figures. Some are wrapped in cloth and…
Continue reading → - Item Number: S-8541
- Provenance/Origin: Tanzania. Pwani Region. Circa 1970s
- Composition: Wood, fabric, clay, earth, liquid
- Dimensions: 12" tall on stand x 4.25 sq inch wood block stand
- Weight: 1.25 pounds
- Price: $ 185.00 USD
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The Zigula are a Tanzanian ethnic and linguistic people from the northern Pwani and southern Tanga regions. To say their art is poorly understood is an understatement. Their “wrapped mummy” statuary is used in secret rituals that protect their owners from evil spirits and power. The…
Continue reading → - Item Number: S-6019
- Provenance/Origin: Circa 1960s. Tanzanian village.
- Composition: Wood, pigment, vegetal, fabric
- Dimensions: 23.5" tall on stand with 9" wide x 7" deep base unit
- Weight: 6.25 pounds
- Price: $ 320.00 USD
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A Orang Ulu shaman carrier / container is primarily used to store medicine, herbs, roots and other plantation items. The carrier is adorned with the naga motif, the common Buah Berinjan vines, two ancestral Dayak warriors on the two poles and accented with the woven vine / rattan material…
Continue reading → - Item Number: C-8492
- Provenance/Origin: Central Borneo. Orang Ulu / Kayan tribe. Most likely from mid- to late-1900s
- Composition: Wood, rattan, cord
- Dimensions: 8" tall x 5" wide x 3.5" deep
- Weight: 1 pound
- Price: $ 145.00 USD
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This is a representation of a medicine man (Nele). A spirit is summoned from the figure and the soul of the patient is placed within. To aid in the healing process, the shaman chants and the burning of cacao beans in a clay censer beneath the…
Continue reading → - Item Number: S-6356
- Provenance/Origin: Carti sector: Guna Yala (San Blas islands), Panama. Acquired in the late 1900s
- Composition: Wood
- Dimensions: 9.5" tall x 2.25" at widest point
- Weight: 0.75 pound
- Price: $ 235.00 USD
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Sumatra is just one island of the 17,000 islands in the chain called Indonesia. The cultures specific to different islands have long been isolated from one another resulting is significant diversity. Sumatra – one of Indonesia’s largest islands – it is home to the Batak tribes. Shamen…
Continue reading → - Item Number: O-6032
- Provenance/Origin: Simalungun Shaman. Lake Toba. Early 1990s
- Composition: Hardwood, hair
- Dimensions: 63" long x 2.0 - 2.5" diameter of head at top
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
- Price: $ 1,475.00 USD
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I have seen many spears from this region of New Guinea during my 50 years of collecting but not quite like this one. The intricate wood carving with its design and detail is quite spectacular. I believe it is carved from Black Palm. Black Palm is…
Continue reading → - Item Number: O-8462
- Provenance/Origin: PNG. Blackwater. Circa mid-1990s
- Composition: Wood, perhaps Black Palm
- Dimensions: 43" long x 4" at widest
- Weight: 1.25 pounds
- Price: $ 378.00 USD
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The Yoruba peoples inhabit a large part of southwestern Nigeria. They have been known to place their trust in the powers of the fetish to assist them during times of need. A fetish – aka Nkisi – is a wood carving that the village…
Continue reading → - Item Number: S-6567
- Provenance/Origin: Yoruba. SW Nigeria. Circa mid-1900s
- Composition: Wood, cloth, fibers, metal
- Dimensions: 12" tall x 4.5" wide x 4" deepest
- Weight: 1.75 pounds
- Price: $ 385.00 USD
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Created by a shaman or Nganga who gathers spiritual items (organic materials, medicines, etc) which is placed in hollow cavities in the abdomen (and sometime the forehead). In this case, such spiritual items are behind a glass shield. Nails are driven into the statue as a…
Continue reading → - Item Number: S-0573
- Provenance/Origin: DRC Congo. Circa 1940s - 1960s
- Composition: Wood, nails, metal, fabric, glass, and more.
- Dimensions: 22" tall x 7.5" wide x 9" deep
- Weight: 8 pounds
- Price: $ 595.00 USD
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Sure, the Ibans / Dayaks were renowned for practicing headhunting to further territorial expansion. They had a fearsome reputation until the Europeans arrived with their colonization in the 1800s. Some headhunting episodes were reported into the mid-1900s. There were rituals, ceremonies and festivals all…
Continue reading → - Item Number: O-2751
- Provenance/Origin: Dayak, Indonesia, Circa 1940s. From a private collection
- Composition: Wood and metal stand
- Dimensions: 36.5" on stand x 1.5" diameter at widest point
- Weight: 2.25 pounds
- Price: $ 465.00 USD
