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ANCESTOR FIGURES Tanimbar, possibly Sera, South Moluccas, Indonesia Early to mid 20th C Wooden sculptures Height: 45 cm Ancestor figures carved from pale, very hard wood. Most likely from Tanimbar in the South Moluccas, where they would have been mounted in a boat, such as the one below, from the island of Sera, depicted in Forgotten Islands. Boats play a vital symbolic role in Tanimbar communities, as De Jonge writes "Boat symbolism is expressed at various levels in society and among other things it reflects the most important social values - the essence of a culture." They are conceived as integrating male and female elements. By bringing these together, humanity is put on a course. Note: the boat below is not in our hands, it is shown only as an example how these sculptures of ancestors would be used in context. Condition: Weathered, and slightly cracked, but very good overall. Provenance: Field collecting, Indonesia Boat, length 65 cm, with ancestors and crew from Sera, Tanimbar archipelago, Indonesia depicted in De Jonge and Van Dijk, Forgotten Islands.