Antique Mid 19th Century Indonesian Architectural Carved Wooden Panel

Description

What a unique find! This antique carved wooden panel measures an impressive ~5 feet long (57" to be exact) and … more What a unique find! This antique carved wooden panel measures an impressive ~5 feet long (57" to be exact) and 7.5" tall (and is 1.5" deep). It is extremely solid and weighs just under 12lbs. I'm uncertain of the wood type though it appears to be oak. What makes it most interesting is its mysterious history.

Along with the panel was a handwritten note that reads "South Sulawesi Indonesia 150 years old - Taken from old Torajan home (window)". The note is written on a piece of stationary from the Hotel Santika Yogyakarta, a lavish hotel still in business today. Judging from the telephone, fax, and 'telex' information on the bottom, I'd guess this stationary to date from sometime in the late 1980s or early 90s - which, if the note is true, dates the panel back to the mid 19th century. South Sulawesi is home to the Torajan people, whose unique homes feature ornate carvings and are adorned with the horns of water buffalo sacrificed in their ornate, lavish funeral ceremonies. However, the style and subject matter of this panel do not match traditional Torajan iconography - the center shield and mythical dragon-like creatures are rather different from the swirling repetitive patterns and buffalo imagery most often seen in the soaring tongkanon home dwellings.

While this may indeed be a Torajan carving (I found some examples in a similar style to this piece found in Torajan rice storage barns), I theorize that this panel may instead have been sourced from the home of a Dutch missionary who may have lived in the area - the iconography of a mythical winged seahorse or gryphon seems outside the tradition of the Torajan artwork of the time.

So! With all that said; this lovely piece of carving is likely ~150 years old (though not guaranteed) with visible wear at the ends as expected; it has two modern hardware brackets for ease of hanging on the reverse, and is likely from Indonesia though only possibly of Torajan make. It's a lovely, striking piece that has traveled very far, and would look amazing hung in most any style of decor. less