Early 20th C. Indonesian Wood Altar - Ancestral Goddess

Eastern Indonesia, Leti Islands, Maluku Islands (Maluku Province), ca. early 20th century CE. A striking, hand-carved wooden altar featuring a stylized woman's body. She stands on two thin legs with her tiny feet (relative to the rest of her body) perched atop a wooden box decorated with floral motifs. Inlaid into the wooden box are two goblet-shaped wooden offering vessels, each set to one side in front of her feet. The woman has her arms upraised, which are massive, widening to hands wider than her head, each with five nub-like fingers and relief birds with enormous tail feathers carved into her palms. Her head rises above her body on a thin neck, with huge ears and nose, deepset eyes, and a small, thin line for a mouth. Atop her head is a huge headdress with the same floral and avian motifs as the box and her palms; above that is an openwork crown. Her body is carved with clear breasts, a chain-like belt, and, between her breasts, what looks like an antlered creature whose lower body and legs become series of leaves. Size: 18" W x 30.15" H (45.7 cm x 76.6 cm)

This incredible altar would have been dedicated to the founding ancestress of a particular kinship group from the islands. The founding mother is the most important ancestor for the people of the Leti Islands, who are matrilineal. She promotes the status of the group with her adornment - in this case, her antlers pendant and her crown indicate the high status of the group. Her pendant is known as the mas tanduk, "gold horns" in Moluccan Malay, and represents a hunting trophy. Her wooden pedestal is known as a yademu and offerings placed on it were considered sacrifices to her.

See a very similar one collected by Wilhelm Muller in 1912 at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, Germany.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection

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#150931
Condition Report: Light wear commensurate with age, but overall the sculpture is in very nice condition. It is composed of several carved pieces of wood fit together and a few of these have added adhesive to hold them in place. Rich patina.