VCM

Ancestor figure
Voorouderbeeld: RMV 695-6

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Why this is a
Masterpiece

One of the oldest Nias statues known. This small and simple ancestor statue was collected by Baron Von Rosenberg (See 79-3) who visited Nias in the 1850s. By dr Pieter ter Keurs, Curator Insular Southeast Asian Collections, Leiden.

History of the Object: Von Rosenberg came to the Dutch East Indies as a soldier and began working on Sumatra and the islands west of Sumatra. Later he became a civil servant with the special task to do scientific research in the archipelago. He also travelled a lot in East Indonesia.

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Type: Sculpture
Materials: Wood
Measurements: Diameter: 6 cm
Creator name: unknown
Creator date: Unknown
Where it was made: Indonesia; Nias
Geography: Indonesia
Time period: AD 19th century ~ AD 19th century
Creation date: 1889; (before)
Function: Protects against evil spirits at home
Acquisition: Bought in 1889 from the widow of Baron Von Rosenberg (1817-1888).
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Owner: State property, the Netherlands
Museum: National Museum of Ethnology, Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde
Credit line: National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, the Netherlands