Lot 158A
Maritime Southeast Asia, Timor Island, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. This hand-carved wooden mask features an ovoid face with pierced eyes, subtle brow ridges, and a prominent nose, representing an ancestral spirit believed to grant fertility, prosperity, and protection. Timorese ancestor masks are rare and striking, often distinguished by large, roughly carved eyes and sometimes a toothless mouth. Traditionally worn during funerals and ceremonies, they were also displayed in homes to ward off evil spirits. This mask is notable for its asymmetrical features and haunting, toothless expression, enhancing its eerie, mystical aura. Its surface shows age with uneven darkening and patches of white discoloration. Used in rituals to repel spirits and mark important events, it symbolizes spiritual protection and a connection to the dead. Size: 12.5" L x 9" W (31.8 cm x 22.9 cm)
Ancestor mask from East Timor, Indonesia, have been described by scholar Jean Paul Barbier as part of a ritual system based on exchanges between humans and the spirit world. These exchanges maintain reciprocity between the deceased and the living. While ancestors are offered sustenance, respect, and attention, the living seek protection, advice, health, fertility, and good fortune. Timorese carved masks were central to ancestor worship, acting as spiritual vessels during village rituals. These ceremonies often took place in a symbolic room known as "the womb," where roof beams formed an axis mundi - a "pillar of the world" that connects the earthly realm with the heavens, serving as a pathway for ancestor spirits. Masks like this are more than decorative - they are protective, magical objects tied to animism and shamanic practice. Across Indonesian island cultures, they are used in what Barbier aptly termed "the ritual manipulation of fate." Regarded as tribal, ethnic, and folk art, most masks represent ancestor spirits created to honor the dead and receive their ongoing protection and guidance. Timorese masks were seldom seen in the West or even in Bali before the mid-1970s. By the 1980s, Javanese stylistic influences began appearing in their facial features. This mask was collected in Bali during the 1970s.
Provenance: private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, acquired in Bali during the 1970s.
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#193604
- Condition: Stable pressure fissures to the chin and lips. Large chip to the verso lower edge, not visible when the mask is displayed. Heavy layers of patina, pigment, and mineral encrustations. Excellent condition with visible signs of age and ritual use.
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