Wooden carved house post - Mentawi island
Ref : Mentawi 01
House post sculpted in Nangka wood collected in the island of Mentawi, north Sumatra by an indonesian trader during the 70's. Such post were erected on the veranda of the house as protecting figure, the white spots being remnant of the long standing under the tropical climate of Mentawi.Most of the island craft was made from light to medium wood unlike the Dayak who always carved with very hard wood due to the diversity and abundance of ironwood in them forest, medium wood was much easy to carved but under tropical weather got this incredible snowlike appearance.
Nowadays with the western contact, the influence of modernisation, religion and recently natural catastrophe, it is unlikely to find this kind of art from the Mentawi culture anymore.
Height : 176 cm / 69 inches
Estimated age: middle 20th century
