Antique Peacock Heddle Pulley, Burma/Myanmar (11297B-ZKE) $245

Description

Burmese carvings are known for fine craftsmanship, masterful decoration, and functional items including carved heddle pulleys used in strip-weaving. Used in pairs at the top of the loom, heddle pulleys are functional and aesthetic and usually were decorated with auspicious images symbolizing figures or animals that protected the weaver, assured good quality weaving, and pleased the gods and spirits, an ideology from Burma’s past of animism and shamanism. This pulley is surmounted by a carved peacock, a frequent Burmese decorative motif. In Buddhism it represents the short-lived nature of all things since its forms appear and vanish as swiftly it displays and furls its tail, and it also is the emblem of its last dynasty the Kon-baung Dynasty (1845-1941). The graceful peacock has a sweeping tail extending to the top of his head and two combs on a long elegantly curved neck providing a curved surface to assure even flow of the string for weaving. Carved surface textures differentiate the feathers on the neck, wings and chest. His rounded claws rest on heart-shaped pieces of wood with holes to support the thin wood dowel that holds the moving thimble and gives the piece a less functional and more artistic feel. There are many contemporary heddle pulley carvings but genuine antique folk art carvings have become increasingly rare. Mounted on a black wood base, this carving pairs well with item 11297A-ZKE.

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