A Dayak hampatong

A Dayak hampatong
Tundjung, Indonesia
carved as a matabani jar with eight looped handles around the neck, surmounted by a head with carved teeth to the open mouth,
113cm high, on a base.

Provenance
Dr Laurence R. Goldman Collection.
Christie's, London, Important Tribal Art, 22 June 1993, lot 205.

Exhibited
The Divine Gifts, London, 1975, no. 31.

These vases are generally termed matabani after the southern Kalimantan port of that name through which they were traded. They were manufactured as export ware in China and were highly valued by the Dayaks who used them in their mortuary rights.