adu, Effigie from Nias

Estimated Value:

400 € - 600 €

Result:

incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

Nias, Western Indonesia, Ono Niha Culture
H. 35,6 cm (o.S.)
Phallic figure without arms, like many sculptures from Nias. The figure stands with slightly bent knees on a roughly square plinth. The strong knees, accentuated by a transverse groove, are very typical of Nasian sculptures. The kalabubu choker, which is associated with successful warriorship, is also clearly recognisable. It is a hallmark of the Niasian warrior nobility. Medium-hard, light-coloured wood.
From an important private collection in southern Germany, collected from 1975 onwards
The Niaser are organised hierarchically; in addition to freemen and nobles, there used to be unfree or slaves (debtors, prisoners of war). This carved sculpture with a stylised tuwu crown represents an ancestor figure; it is a smaller version of the monumental statues that preside over judgements, trials and executions for various transgressions in the houses of the chiefs. The tuwu is usually triangular in shape; it is symbolic of the world tree, suggesting that the warrior's capacity to take life enables him to strengthen his own community and bring that life to his community as part of the rites of passage. This rededication of life symbolically follows the 3-level model (lower, middle and upper world), which are connected by the world tree. When life is added to the underworld (through ritual warfare or sacrifice), this serves to increase the fertility of the living. Nias is the largest of the numerous islands of North Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. It is known for its monumental buildings and megalithic culture; one of the last regions in the world where the centuries-old erection of megaliths on important occasions was still practised a few decades ago. Hundreds, sometimes up to 2000 people were involved. The ancestor figures of the Nias (always men) are associated with local creation myths, according to which a heroic figure named Hia is said to have come from the heavenly regions to the banks of the Gomo - Well preserved

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