Old Carved Bone..totem? ceremonial spearhead? what is it?
 

Not quite an edged weapon ......but ethnographic never the less...but what is it?
The seller describes this as Dyak....it is 18cms high...carved bone in the form of a naked man 'displaying' his genetalia ...with a wooden 'point' (..........on his head :D )....the lower section is hollow to accept some sort of shaft....apparently there is some remains of the original wood shaft still there. Is it a totem?....ceremonial spear? ...is it even Dyak?

Has anyone any ideas..
.......(please not too many 'school boy' comments :D :rolleyes: )

Been searching on the net,,,,found this image....no title ....no information...just a photo on a photography web site....
So what ever it is ....there are more of them....

It is not Dajak

Ben

Thankyou Ben :)

The extended vulva :o is often seen in African figures but really do not think they are African. I wonder if they are not Philippine or from some of the smaller Indonesian islands. I would not be able to tell if they were tourist stuff or not. The confident but naive nudity makes me think they may just be okay.

The 'naive nudity' is one of this piece's attractions......It is a reminder of the simple liberties and freedoms we have lost in our 'civilised society'.....not that I'm a nudist or naturist :D But artistic interpretation of the human form tends to be guided by censorship, public opinion, religious constraints and the Law ....no such restrictions in many ethnic environments.

Hi here are some pic s off Dajak charms these are from the famous ter Houten collection and was long in an museum in the Netherlands

I think that they could also be Naga. The conical male cap. I have a bronze naked Naga pair of figures. The male is depicted with a cap.

I don't think they are Filipino. Naga is a good thought though.

Naga definately seems a likely source....but I cannot find any conclusive proof...received it today ...the 'pointed hat' is horn (IMHO cow, it is hollow)and the bone has a nice patina and seems to be 'polished' by regular handling.
The 'hat' a small circle with a dot in the centre and 'mimics' the eyes...the positions of the 'circles' form a triangle....which could be relavent.
If anyone has any ideas please let me know......I'm all 'googled' out ;)

i agree with ben, it is not dajak. Your carved bone didn't have dayak style or figure.

hope this helps

I notice looking at the figures face the eyes are round & the genitals circmcised. I wonder if that provides any clues to origin?

Spiral

Well, i don't know the origin ,but it seems nice. Congrats!!! :)

Looks like it is batak but not old