20th C. Borneo Iban Dayak Wood Tun Tun / Charm Stick

Southeast Asia, Malaysia, western Borneo, Sarawak State, Iban Dayak people, ca. early 20th century CE. A hand-carved hardwood charm stick known as a tun tun used as a trap stick to capture wild animals. This tun tun is covered in dark brown pigment and has a slender body surmounted by a stylized ancestral figure. The figure is seated atop the rectangular plinth with elbows placed atop bent knees and hands held beneath the sloped cheeks. Tun tuns were used to measure the necessary height of the impaling spike, and the ancestor atop the pole is intended to symbolically lure the prey to the trap. These charms could also be placed at the four corners of an agricultural field to spiritually protect crops and encourage plant growth. Size: 0.9" W x 19.2" H (2.3 cm x 48.8 cm); 20.125" H (51.1 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Johnson collection, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#153052
Condition Report: Minor abrasions to figure and pole body, with a few stable hairline fissures, and very light encrustations, otherwise intact and very good. Great remains of brown pigment throughout.