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Lot 658
Medicine container "naga marsarang" (borsarang)
Estimated Value:
2.000 € - 3.000 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Probably Karo-Batak, 19th century.L. ca. 19 cm
Horn. An extremely finely crafted medicine horn made from the horn of the kerabau water buffalo, the lid of which is no longer present. It can be dated to the 19th century. The style is reminiscent of the fine powder horns of the Karo-Batak; it may have been made by a specialist from this “industry”. The central motif of the mythical primal creature singa adorns the carrying element, which was used to attach a carrying cord or chain. It is precisely tapped in, which also applies to the raised rear section. The rear part can be interpreted as a stylized hornbill and is reminiscent of the decorative forms of pelangkah coffins for the highest social class. The entire surface is decorated with geometric ornaments in a fine notched pattern. These partly echo the motif of the stylized hornbill. This is one of the finest known “magic horns”, which brings together the decorative forms of Batak art in the best form. It can be assumed that this type originally goes back to Chinese models, where finely carved powder horns have been produced especially since the Ming period.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s - Short age-related material crack, wooden cover best.
Medicine horns are known above all among the Toba-Batak. They are also known among the Karo, who have long been Muslim, at least in part, but are rarer and often much smaller. They are more filigree and elegant than the bulky Toba horns, as the magical protective objects are of a different nature in accordance with the Muslim rejection of "superstition" and object worship; the horns are also more likely to be regarded as jewellery and amulets than actual containers.
