A Superb Old Pair of Ancestor Figures from Aitos Area East Timor

A Superb Old Pair of Ancestor Figures from Aitos Area East Timor

The fine old pair of male and Female Ancestor Figures are from the Aitos Area of East Timor in SE Asia.  Dating from the early 20th century this distinct style of the Aitos figures area is part of a larger corpus of Ancestor Worship and Art stretching all the way through SE Asia and the Indonesian archipelago and into the island of New Guinea.

Ancestor posts like these played a significant role in rituals that honoured ancestral spirits who presided over the land and instructed the Tetum people on all areas of daily life; the raising of cattle, agriculture, hunting & fishing and architecture. The ancestors are made visible by these carved figures who pass on the traditions to the living.  They also watch over their descendants to ensure that their customs are carefully followed and punishing those who fail to conform to the ancient traditions. Offerings to ancestral spirits were placed on stone slabs near the ancestral figures or on the actual figures sometimes adorning them with textiles or traditional ornaments.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection of Indonesian & New Guinea Oceanic Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art.  Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

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