Collection
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Title
Bamboo tube (solep) with stopper or charm (karuhai) in the form of seated figure
19th century-20th century
Artists
Unknown Artist
About
Decorative bamboo tubes and containers for utilitarian and ceremonial use are widespread in the arts of Borneo. Often present in negotiation and exchange, they were used to hold household items, luxury goods and medicines. Designs vary from depictions of plant motifs and protective symbols to more elaborate narrative imagery relating to the myths and legends of Borneo.While the precise purpose and origin of this tube (‘solep’) and stopper or charm (‘karuhai’) are unknown, the overall design is characteristic of examples created and used by Ngaju shamans of central Kalimantan. Seated atop a lotus-like base, the charm figure would have been carved by a shaman and then attached to the bamboo tube and anointed with offerings of blood or egg.
Details
Other Titles
Medicine container
Medicine container with carved stopper in shape of a seated figure
Date
19th century-20th century
Materials used
bamboo and wood
Dimensions
36.0 x 3.2 x 3.2 cm :
a - bamboo container, 26 x 3.2 cm
b - wood stopper, 12.1 x 2.5 cm
Credit
Christopher Worrall Wilson Bequest 2010
Location
Not on display
Accession number
559.2010.a-b
Shown in 1 exhibition
Exhibition history
Glorious, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 27 May 2017–06 Jan 2019
Referenced in 2 publications
Bibliography
Ancestral art of the Indonesian archipelago, Sydney, 2017, 48 (colour illus.).
Southeast Asian Tribal Art, Nov 1986, Plate 8, (colour illus) unpaginated..