As defined by the International Museum of Folk Art, folk art encompasses a broad range of forms – dance, song, poetry, and foods as well as art. It is handmade; traditional, reflecting shared cultural aesthetics and social issues which may change over time; and is of, by and for the people inclusive of class, status, culture, ethnicity, gender, and religion. It may be for community use or for sale as income or empowerment; learned formally, informally, or self-taught. It can be decorative or utilitarian used for daily, ritual or ceremonial purposes.
Showing 61–69 of 69 results
Court ministers (patih) in Bali, Indonesia are danced in mask (topeng) performances named Topeng Panjegan where a single dancer interprets 5 legendary characters wearing full face masks, cannot speak and much portray them only through gestures and body language and positions. Patih manis (literally sweet, a good natured, diplomatic minister) is often the first solo…
Traditional Burmese dance has its roots in folk religion and is a combination of ancient animism, nat worship and a later syncretic blend with Buddhism. Ethnic minorities often perform dances that include warriors , Zawgyi (shaman) and nats wielding swords or holding drums while dressed in full-body costumes. Burmese performances were regulated with limitations on…
This charming vintage folk-art panel of a barefoot female farmer with a woven rattan basket behind her with the handle over her forehead is part of a 3 part set of farmer images
Burmese women always did strenuous work, yet they rarely see themselves as farmers. This is due to Burma’s old patriarchal culture, Burmese laws and narrow rural beliefs defining them as workers laboring for men only: their father, brother or husband. This wonderful painted wood panel of a barefoot female farmer depicts her with the long…
This vintage Indonesian rice paddle/spoon was crafted from local wood by a Lombok craftsman and is a fine example of the cultural art of the Sasak people who number three million and comprise about 80% of its population. As animism farmers for two millennia, they lived in houses surrounding religious compounds where they held religious…
Deeply set cut-out eyes and mouths are traditional for West Timor ancestor masks as are few, none or menacing teeth. They are rare and often have hair on animal hides on the upper lip, brows and head. Often looking threatening with stark features, their black color, teeth and often lack of balance scare off malevolent and evil spirits. Storing them in the rafters above the house hearth accounts for their smokey black color. Timor Ancestor masks have an earthy expressive presence and a raw spirit.
Timor’s religion has been described by Barbier as ritual exchanges between persons and social groups with their ancestors and fertility spirits. Timorese believe they can be upset by wicked forces, sickness, infertility and other forces, but particularly by the failure of the living to make suitable sacrifices to ancestral spirits. The departed protect and bring prosperity to the living as long as they are honored properly, so there is a close reciprocal link between the deceased and the secular world. Ancestors mediate between the living and the unseen world for living relatives. Their masks are used in animist veneration rituals, protective ceremonies and ritual dances or ceremonies tied to fertility, harvest, or funerary rites Besides masks, the living s are obliged to carve ancestor effigies to honor departed souls for them to occupy and rest in during their village visits. Many ceremonies usually occur in a house room known as “the womb” where a pillar supports beams rising up to the roof struts. This functions symbolically as an axis mundi (the center of the world or cosmic axis) that connects heaven and supports a simple altar above the floor to hold religious artifacts, protective fetishes and charms to ward off evil. So masks, effigies and fetish objects are protective and magic objects used throughout Indonesian islands in. Timor masks were rarely seen in the west until the mid-1970s.
Vintage bivalve mold figures like this cow were hand luted and hand painted, in the likeness of Hindu religious figures, soldiers, animals are used in rural India where they are seen as wishes for a better life.
Earthenware terracotta pottery has played a significant role in the cultural, religious and artistic traditions of India for centuries. Indian terracotta images are considered spiritual, mystical and auspicious as Hindus believe terracotta incorporates the five natural elements of air, fire, earth, water and metal. Made with a bivalve mould that is hand luted and hand…
Mask carving is among the oldest of Tibetan art and folk-art forms dating to 6th century Bonpo dances, the religion predating Buddhism, that embraces animism and shamanism dances. Totem animal masks were traditionally used in sacred ceremonial dances: shamanic rituals to thank the gods, expel bad spirits, and ask for blessings; operas in performances without…
End of content
End of content