Southeast Asia, Borneo, Central Kalimantan, Ngaju Dayak, ca. late 19th / early 20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden anthropomorphic charm figure depicted standing with hands crossed over his chest - his visage rendered in a characteristically abstract manner with incised oval eyes, a straight narrow nose, and rather large ears - his body quite angular and stylized as is characteristic of the Dayak. In addition, he is holding an object, perhaps a book, under its arm and standing upon an integral base. A lovely piece with a rich, lustrous patina. Size: 1.5" W x 4.5" H (3.8 cm x 11.4 cm)

This type of carving is a medical charm figure that would have been given by a shaman to the warrior. Traditionally, when a person was sick he would cut little chips from the charm figure and eat them in order to heal himself.

Provenance: ex-private collection of the late Ami Brown, New York City, USA, 1950 to 1970, foremost Israeli art collector and founder of Coca Cola Israel

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#113185

Normal surface wear with expected chips, nicks, and abrasions, else excellent. Beautiful rich patina.