Carved Bust of a Woman in a Tusk Collar, Philippines

Carved Bust of a Woman in a Tusk Collar, Philippines

$135.00
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Carved Bust of a Woman in a Tusk Collar, Philippines
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Carved Bust of a Woman in a Tusk Collar, Philippines
KOBK.26.OBJ.173
Carved Bust of a Woman in a Tusk Collar, Philippines
$135.00

Specifications

Philippines, 1950s to 1970s

Unmarked; the type is sold in the trade as Igorot, after the peoples of the northern Luzon highlands

Carved from one piece of dense tropical hardwood

A pendant collar with two curved tusks at the centre

43 cm high on the stand, 16 cm wide, 12 cm deep

Mounted by KOBK on a steel pin and round base, included

Cleaned only

Honest age: light surface scuffing and a few small losses to the edges of the carving

Every KOBK object is one of one and carries its age honestly. Expect marks, wear and patina as part of the piece; any specific fault is noted above. Where an object is photographed on a stand, the stand is included.

Notes

Igorot means people from the mountains. It is what Spanish officials called the peoples of the northern Luzon highlands, and it covers eleven groups who mostly have their own names and in some cases would rather you used them.

In 1904 an Igorot village was built at the St Louis World's Fair and Igorot people were put on display in it. It became one of the most popular exhibits at the fair.

Half a century later, carvers in the Philippines were turning out busts like this one for visitors to take home, sold as a pair, a man and a woman. Necklaces hung with tusks are real highland ornament, and that is what she has been given. Nobody signed them. Nothing on her says which carver, which town or which year.

She has arrived on her own, and she stands on a steel pin we made for her.