Mark A. Johnson Tribal Art

mj21: Guardian Figure. Ironwood. H: 24.5" (62 cm), figure only: 17.5" (44.5 cm). Carbon date pending, but before the 19th century. Kayanic Dayak complex (Kayan, Bahau, Modang, etc), East Kalimantan, Borneo Island, Indonesia.

Rare type of what I believe is one of only six known, with the only published example in the Dallas Art Museum. The erosion (likely caused from untold years laying in river mud) has reduced some of the imagery around the lower face and arms. The arms are bent at the elbows, with the hands held up to the head, cupping the chin. The small sharp points below the elbows would have connected to the waist.

All of these figures are delicately carved, in contrast to their powerful presence. The large wide eyes with the hands to the face and open mouths, give the impression these guardians are shouting encouragement to the deceased on their journey to the afterlife or perhaps they are making aggressive noises to scare off malevolent spirits. They stand guard, rigidly planted on sacred territory, tireless and timeless sentinels of noble ancestors, that appear to stare off into space, ignoring the mundane world of humans to focus on more powerful spiritual forces.