Featured Carved wooden figure- comments

Hi all,being in South Africa,I see a a lot of wood carvings and ‘tribal’ things/figurines made for the tourist/souvenir market. However I found this ‘2 faced’ one rather interesting and different (also it looks to have some age)

I know we’ve had many African wood carvings on the forum before (so I had a look at some of the previous threads) Have we had one similar to this before? It is 22 cm in length. Any ideas to origin? Age? Is it African?

Thank you for any comments.

 

a Janus carving........ I can't place it...

 

One side sad, one side happy? That's a common enough motif/device.

 

Appreciate it. Thanks for the reply and lead.

 

Can it be one side man and one side woman?

 

Taking your lead I found only ‘somewhat’ similar (I think) from D.R Congo? Something like a Janus figure- Luba Zela? Or A power half figure ‘Kakudji’ Not sure Iam on the right track..

 

I agree it looks 'good'-- the straightness of grain of the wood indicates a more mature, old tree, and older trees were generally cut down longer ago, suggesting an older piece.

The patina looks better than your run-of-mill piece, too.

My totally uninformed guess would be more Oceania than African, but others'll know more than me.

 

Many thanks. I appreciate your opinion regarding possible age. Interesting comment/observation regarding the grain of the wood and tree age. I will also search in the ‘Oceania’ direction.

 

It could be from one of the (sub)tribal peoples in Eastern Indonesia.

Disclaimer: I don't know much about tribal Indonesia, I only come across Indonesian tribal art every now and then. My focus is on the culture in a number of (former) kingdoms and principalities in what is now Indonesia.

Indonesia has over 17500 islands and an enormous diversity of cultures. The way these cultures are organised ranges from small nomadic family groups to very complexly structured kingdoms. This means that their art and artifacts have the same broad range.
It takes several lifetimes to know every single one of these cultures.

 

Many thanks for the reply AJ. That unfortunately sounds like a ‘needle in a hay stack’ scenario with so many islands and diverse tribes/cultures. Any guess as to possible age?

 

The different cultures are very distinct and recognizable. I just don't know all of them because my focus is on (parts of) Western Indonesia, rather than tribal Eastern Indonesia. There is a huge difference between those regions.

Maybe @2manybooks recognizes the style.

 

Buka Island Bougainvile Region, Solomon Islands"

try looking around here........
I'm just throwing it out there......

your carving.....primative in nature , but I don't see a tourist quality , looks like more of a personal item....and these can be very hard to place with a regular google search...

 

Don't see why not, but I think I'd take Any Jewelry's information. I'm the one who makes WAGs and off-the-cuff comments.

 

Which wasn't much and may not be correct.

 

Understood. Thanks again AJ

 

Ok great. I will give it a search and maybe get lucky. True it does
have a rather primitive look.
Thanks for the comments and suggestion Komo.

 

If you say so

 

But also Off-the-cuff comments keep things interesting

 

off the cuff...?
ok.....
I'm wondering about the cord.......left there for a reason....... as it it were meant to be hung.....but from what??

 

I knew you all were going to get around to me......

It is not a style I recognize from anywhere, nor can I find any close comparison. It may be that identifying the wood, and the fiber used in the cordage, would be the most helpful clues. But microscopy would probably be required.

May we see the bottom and/or top of the piece, to see the grain structure there?