MESUREMENTS:   11.8" x 8.6 x 7" (cm 30 x 22 x 18 )     weight:  2.93 Kg w. stand

This rare and intriguing artifact appears to have been sculpted in the Enggano style, a mysterious civilization that thrived on a remote island off the western coast of Sumatra, not far from the Mentawai Islands. The Enggano population was decimated by slavery and epidemics towards the late 1800s. It was extensively studied by the anthropologist Elio Modigliani, and the rare artifacts related to this civilization are preserved at the Ethnographic Museum in Florence and a handful of other museums.

In Enggano society, which was matriarchal in nature, aristocratic women wore cylindrical ceremonial headdresses called 'epaku,' which were adorned with intricately carved, muscularly coiled crouching figures. These headdresses were displayed by women of the highest status during feasts that included singing and sacred dancing. These figures represented the subjugated slaves.

This object has been carved from the root of a bamboo plant, but it possesses remarkable volume and density. When combined with its striking and monstrous design, it exudes a significant expressive power.

One of the picture shows one of those Enggano epaku, headdress with figure on top