Antique Majapahit Terracotta Head, Java H: 2.75″ (1137)

Description

The Majapahit Empire from the 13th-16th centuries, one of the greatest Southeast Asian empires, was Hindu, centered on Java and extended from present-day Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Southern-Thailand, and the Philippines. Many Majapahit buildings were decorated with deeply carved bas-relief friezes portraying Javanese folklore and stories from the Sanskrit epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Recent East Java excavations found small, decapitated heads with Javanese facial features, hairstyles and large ear ornamentations characteristic of the upper classes. Some believe they were part of friezes and effigies and decapitated as part of religious offerings, while others feel they were secular objects that were discarded when they were broken.

Crafted during the Majapahit Empire in Java this head was part of a bas-relief frieze. Most unearthed A great small piece of history.  Pairs with Majapahit Terracotta Head 1138.