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82A

Ifugao Ceremonial BOX

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Asian Antiques Start Price:650.00 USD Estimated At:900.00 - 1,200.00 USD
Ifugao Ceremonial BOX
Online Auction only, with advance bids accepted at iCollector and at the Gallery. No live bidding
in the Gallery, and tie bids go to the earliest bidder. All proceeds will go 100% to the World Peace Foundation Building Fund of Hadley, MA.
An exceptional example, finer than the one in the UCLA Catalog (page 250) and having the traditional double-Pig handles at the ends, and with a pregnant woman sculpted on the cover. This indicates its uncommon use as a Medicine Box, certainly by a female Shamaness-Priest, and its large size relates to her elevated status in the tribe. Though not covered in the UCLA text where these boxes are described, medicine use for some boxes has been related to me by two Ifugao informants during my many visits to the Philippines. The rituals for healing can go on for a week or more, and are expensive for most Ifugao families because they have to house and feed the Shamaness during the period of her services. Old insect attack is evident at the base of the inner cavity and the underside of the cover, where ritual and sacrifice items were kept. There is a whitish, paint-like coating on the outside of the body (not the lid) which diverges from the typical blackish coating of Bululs and Boxes....further indication of the unique status of this Medicine Box. Highly Important and a bargain, as only about one-tenth the number of ANY Ceremonial Boxes show up in Manila area collections in relation to the Bulul sculptures. 21-1/2" from snout to snout, and made of heavy and hard wood (another indication of age). Early 20th C. and a fine companion to the Tagiling Maternity Bulul in Lot 081.
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