A Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Ancestor Figure South Taiwan Formosa Island

A Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Ancestor Figure from Southern Taiwan from the Early 20th Century.  We specialize in the rare & beautiful art of the indigenous people of Taiwan.

This finely carved Ancestor Figure is from the Paiwan People or other closely related indigenous Formosan tribes from South Taiwan / Formosa Island.  Dating from the early 20th Century and showing deep old patina and wear from handling.   Carved from a single piece of hardwood and stands on a small square base that has a chip on one corner clearly seen in the photos.

The ancestor figure is a Paiwan Man who has been successful in hunting wild boar carried by tying the boar’s feet together and the animal becomes a backpack. The man is wearing a traditional Paiwan woven textile kilt and one hand likely once held a weapon like a spear or a sword.  The artist was highly skilled, and the proportions of the figure & the boar he is carrying are accurate but it is the sensitive face that shows the artist was able to capture the real emotion of their highly venerated ancestor.

I have included a couple of photos of similar hunting ancestor figures in public museum collections for reference.

Wild boar is an important part of the Paiwan traditional diet but it is also a recurring motif used on Paiwan art objects such as Chief’s House Lintels.

The Paiwan are one of several indigenous peoples living in the mountainous interior of Taiwan. Paiwan society is hierarchical, divided into high nobles, minor nobility, and commoners. In former times, only the high nobility was entitled to create or commission certain forms of human images, which portrayed important ancestors (tsmas). The ancestors, whose supernatural influence was controlled by the nobility, had the power to either help or harm the community, depending on whether their spirits received proper respect through ritual observances and offerings. The houses of Paiwan nobles were both the physical and artistic centres of ancestral power and imagery. The remains of noble ancestors were buried within the houses of their descendants, and their images adorned the doorways, house posts, and other architectural elements.

I have been collecting Oceanic Art for 40 years and have always been fascinated with Paiwan & other Taiwan Indigenous tribes’ art as they are the known ancestors of the ancient Polynesians. The Taiwan Indigenous tribe’s art styles have connections & influences on not only Polynesian Art but also on Southeast Asian Art and through Indonesia & island of New Guinea.

Provenance: Lin Tien Wang Collection who was working with Paiwan Villages in the early 1930s

The Todd Barlin Collection of  New Guinea Art & Oceanic and Asian Art

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