Featured Carved Combs from Tanimbar

Hi. I haven't posted in this forum yet. I've posted SE Asian beads and a bracelet I collected a few years back. These are combs from the island of Tanimbar in South Maluku, Indonesia - due north of Darwin, Australia. I visited in 1991 and had a Moon guidebook which mentioned a village near the main town of Saumlaki there that was famous for carving combs. Trouble was, there were no combs being sold when I got there, but I met a man who said he could carve me three. These are the cheeky results. I think he got a good laugh out of it, but they are definitely unique.

 

Thanks, I need help.

 

u don't need help here....u gots all the info u need.....
and yes......very cheeky............but nice work !

 

Thanks. It was a wild place. It would be nice to hear from someone with knowledge of the culture there (I'm pretty clueless). I also bought a small stone statue in Saumlaki (it's in the US now in storage) that looks a lot like this carved monkey. The seller told me it was a "monkey god" but I know very little about the indigenous religion, except that their ancestors built stone boats.

 

stone boats........funny...I heard that on the TV this weekend...

The of course, there's this....

According to Iroquois legend, a son born of a virgin mother carved a canoe from a block of white granite and, traveling the shores of Lake Ontario, convinced five feuding tribes to lay down their arms and join together as the Iroquois Confederacy. The boat's ability to float was proof to the chieftains that the youth was a divine messenger.......

 

They are well made and fun. That man really caters to tourists.
Eroticism is quite natural in many Indonesian, and indeed Southeast Asian, art forms, but foreign demand has caused an explosion of erotic imagery. He probably thought that was what you were looking for.

 

Thanks for the reply. I want to display them, but keep them protected. Perhaps wired to a background and covered by a glass frame. Do you think that's a good idea? Any other ideas on how to display but also preserve them?

 

I just give my woodcarvings the occasional rub with a drop of oil.
Displaying them in a frame is a good idea, but it is better to use a cord or thread to secure them to the background, so the wood won't be damaged.

 

little metal stand with a support wire.....that way u can touch them....and oil them naturally...

 

Komokwa, so can my cat. So I'm thinking up on the wall would be better

 

u need a showcase with glass doors.....or a lazy cat...

 

That kitten won't get lazy for another 18 yrs.

 

She's got so much energy she actually vibrates.

 

she's got bat ears too...

 

She's up all night. Might be part bat

 

cats sleep 16 hours a day.......I think you have an Atomic Cat !!!!

 

and yes.........we're way off topic here..........

do I look like I care !!!!