Architectural Ornament

This architectural carving, probably a roof finial from a longhouse in the Kenyah-Kayan region of northern Borneo, depicts two stylized aso (dragon-like beings that serve as supernatural guardians) in embrace. The heavily eroded figures, which likely formed part of a larger sculptural composition, share a tapering triangular base and have undulating snake-like bodies with flaring open mouths and backward curving jaws. The first aso figure, positioned on the broad end of the base, has four limbs and a prominent tongue; its forelimbs embrace the neck of the second aso figure while its hind limbs grasp the tail. This second figure, similarly sinuous in form, lacks a tongue and has only a single pair of limbs which embrace the mid-section of the first figure, continuing past its body to grasp a weathered snake-like form attached to the lower neck. These complex intersections are repeated at the base and tip of the tail of the first aso figure, creating an overall sense of dynamism distinctive of the carving style of the region.