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Lot 732
A RELIEF PANEL
Estimated Value:
2.500 € - 3.500 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Indonesia, Timor East, Belu / Tetum, early 20th cent.77 x 35 cm
Wood, pigments. Rare relief panel from the Tetum on Timor. Depicted are the totem animals of a family, the wife's totem animals on the right and the husband's on the left. On both sides, the male and female figures are threatened by a large fish, probably a shark, and a crocodile. In large parts of Indonesia, the crocodile at least is regarded as an üill-tempered, unpredictable early ancestor or ancestor who must be satisfied and appeased by regular offerings. A central role is played by the large number of animals depicted in the centre, which did the clan good in the mythical past and are regarded as bringers of culture. According to the totemic principle, they must therefore neither be killed nor eaten and often not even touched. Some can also be regarded as reincarnated ancestors. Every clan has its totem animals. When members of such clans marry, the man takes on the totem lineage of the clan. His wife. The researcher Vroklage, who carried out his field research in the 1930s, lamented that the worship of totem animals had already fallen into oblivion at that time. The panel, which must therefore have been made before the time of Vroklage's stay, still shows cosmology in its pure, unadulterated form. It probably comes from the possession of a Kepala Adat ("head of tradition", head of the family).
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
The Malayo-Polynesian Tetum (also Tetun, formerly Belu) are the largest ethnic group in East Timor. In Indonesian West Timor, they make up a large part of the population in the government districts of Belu and Malaka. With around 450,000 members, the Tetum are the largest ethnic group in East Timor and the second largest in West Timor with 500,000. They first migrated to Timor in the 14th century, according to their stories from Malacca. They first settled in the centre of the island. The old foreign name Belu means friend or benefactor in English. In colonial times, the east of the island of Timor was referred to as Belu. Tetum art is characterised by cosmic dualism, which results in an axially symmetrical structure on the relief panels that are considered sacred. The sacred underworld, defined as feminine, is dominated by women, while the secular and masculine upper world is occupied by men. Both worlds must be connected, otherwise infertility, illness and death are imminent.
