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 73–84 of 99 results
This Dalem is a traditional folk-art and ethnic mask (topeng) from Bali made from pulai wood of a Hindu king (Dalem). He stares directly at the viewer while his high cheeks help express his poise and the ability to remain cool in a crisis. This is a fine example of a gifted carver able to…
Deeply carved rows of black hair atop the horse’s head form a carved pattern framed by the upward-pointed ears that emphasize the horse’s alertness. Wonderfully modeled with flowing forms, this carving demonstrates the gifts of Tibetan woodcarvers. One can only imagine how important horses are to Tibetans living on “the roof of the world.” Without…
This beautiful carving is too large to be a traditional dance mask, but is still a wonderful and fine folk art creation by an amazingly talented artisan. When it was collected in the 1970s, it was identified by the Balinese seller as Dayu or Dahyu, a high-caste Brahmana woman from the first Balinese caste. She…
The culture, rituals, tribal and ethnic art of the Dayak (Dyak) of Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia is a mix of shamanism, animism and ancestor worship. Dyak festival masks worn on the face or large ones attached to a costume repel malicious spirits from entering communal spaces, insure village safety, protect babies in their carriers and defend…
This doll is a Chinese opera dancer whose costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossom on the sash symbolizing longevity and, with its 5 petals, a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. Her elaborate hair is a focal point along with the flower he holds. In many cultures, dolls were children’s entertainment and didactic tools…
This doll is a Chinese nuo opera dancer whose costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossoms symbolizing longevity and, with its 5 petals, a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. In many cultures, dolls were children’s entertainment and didactic tools to teach beliefs, philosophy, lore, and history specific to each culture. In China dolls were…
This very fine and very beautiful vintage woodcarving of Dewi Sri , Devi Sri or Sridevi in Java, the Balinese Hindu goddess of rice and prosperity, is in excellent condition considering it is a much used vintage piece. Personally collected in Bali in the 1970s, it reflects the offerings made to Dewi Sri placed in the rice fields to protect the rice harvest. She is depicted here as a young, attractive and fertile woman wearing a striking, highly detailed and decorative headdress similar to those worn in Balinese dances leaving her upper forehead bare and framing her oval face with high curved eyebrows, wide-open eyes and beautiful pursed lips. With its flat back it can be mounted on a wall.
Carved Burmese/Myanmar teak heddle pulleys were primarily used in strip-weaving, a process using small handlooms to weave long, narrow strips of cloth sewn together to create larger textiles such as blankets and ritual cloths. They are used in pairs and are tied together by a string that runs through a mechanism at the top of…
Ibeji carvings from Nigeria are idealized folk art conforming to Yoruba artistic and cultural conventions without closely reflecting human likenesses. Symmetrical and restrained with oversized elongated heads where one’s spirit, intelligence and the seat of divine power lie, they often have detailed linear coiffures that can be a third or more of the figure’s body…
This ethnic and folk-art Bali legendary court minister (topeng patih) is performed in a special mask dance named Topeng Panjegan, as only one dancer interprets five different characters wearing full face masks preventing speech. Patih manis (Sweet Minister) is often the first solo dance after a gamelan orchestra introduction, and this patih keras (strong minister)…
This vintage wood and cloth doll representing male attendants from China carries a peach, among the most popular Chinese auspicious symbols representing longevity. He is presented as a Chinese- opera figure with his costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossoms also symbolizing longevity and its 5 petals evoking a wish for the Five-Blessings-or-Happinesses. In many cultures,…
All ethnic mask (topeng) dances in Bali are accompanied with music from a gamelan percussion orchestra as are dramas and other entertainments considered as offerings to honor, please and attract the favor of the gods and ancestral spirits. In the west dancers put on masks to pretend they are someone else. Balinese dancers become the…
End of content
End of content