Ancestor Figure (Hampatong)

late 17th–19th century

Indo-Pacific Art

On view, 3rd floor, Indo-Pacific Art

Funeral statues commemorating a deceased person are still set up near graves or in front of communal longhouses in Borneo. The figures are usually called hampatong, a term that means “effigy” or “figure.” A hampatong is not always an ancestor but can also represent a more general guardian figure that protects the living.

Medium

Wood

Dimensions

13 3/4 × 6 11/16 × 7 1/16 in. (35 × 17 × 18 cm)

Credit Line

Promised gift of Thomas Jaffe, B.A. 1971

Loan number

ILE2012.30.285

Geography

Made in Borneo, Indonesia

Culture

Ngaju

Period

17th–18th century

Classification

Sculpture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Ex-collection: Jacques Marchais, Paris; J. J. Porchez, Paris, purchased Jakarta 1980. Seller: Fraysse & Associes.
Bibliography
  • Jerome Feldman, The Eloquent Dead: Ancestral Sculpture of Indonesia and Southeast Asia (Los Angeles: Fowler Museum at UCLA, 1985), 23, fig. 8.
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

effigies, figures (representations)

Subject

ancestor worship ancestors

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

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