002: EDGE OF
THE RIVER
ARCHAIC
MODANG
POST
B O R N E O
ARCHAIC MODANG POST
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ca. 17th/18th century
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East Kalimantan, Borneo
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Modang peoples
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Ironwood
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Height: 76 in
Width: 5 in at the widest point
Depth: 4 in -
Revered European collection
In the period between the very late 1970s up until about 1990, a modest number of fragmentary carvings were found along riverbanks and mudflats of the Middle Mahakam river and its nearby tributaries. These were recovered by locals as the course of waterways changed during a period of intensive logging coupled with intermittent drought.
The most remarkable pieces are foundational and presage the development of Modang and Bahau traditions in their familiar classical forms of the 19th and early 20th centuries. (Eyes of the Ancestors: 134-137)
This imposing riverine object represents a series of three stacked figures that would have been used as part of a decorated framing post or ridgeway or as a freestanding post beside a mausoleum.
We are proud to present a genuine and unique survivor from one of Indonesia's greatest sculptural traditions.
Tutelary Figure
© The Dallas Museum of Art
Modang Ancestral Effigy. Private European Collection.
Standing Guardian Figure | Tepatung
© The Dallas Museum of Art
