ticketsMember | Make a donation

Lime squeezer

late 19th–early 20th century
Not on view
This wooden implement is a ritual lime squeezer that depicts a standing human figure holding a vessel with both hands. The face is intricately carved with fine, angular features. The wood is highly polished, perhaps from the repeated turning required to extract lime juice. A ritual specialist, called datu by the Toba Batak, used lime in several ceremonial contexts. For example, the juice was mixed with water and used in the ceremonial cleansing of a horse about to be consecrated to one of the three principal deities, Batara Guru, Soripada, and Mangalabulan. The citrus juice was also added to various mixtures such as magic potions and gunpowder to improve their efficacy. And in rituals designed to foretell the future, lime segments would be combined with chicken eggs.


The Toba Batak, one of six groups among the Batak peoples of northern Sumatra, live in the mountainous highlands surrounding Lake Toba (the birthplace of the Batak, according to oral histories and myths). The Batak maintained trade relations with their Malay neighbors living on the coast but otherwise remained relatively isolated until the 18th and 19th centuries when Dutch and British traders, along with German missionaries, established operations in Sumatra. Although nearly all Batak today are Christian or Muslim, they formerly recognized diverse supernatural beings, including deities, ancestors, and malevolent spirits. The primary religious figures in Batak society were male ritual specialists, called datu by the Toba Batak, who acted as intermediaries between the human and spiritual worlds. Much of Toba Batak sacred art centered on the creation and adornment of objects that would be used by the datu for divination, curing ceremonies, malevolent magic, and other rituals. Among the most important were ceremonial staffs, books of ritual knowledge, and a variety of containers used to hold magical substances.



References


Capistrano-Baker, Florina H. Art of Island Southeast Asia. The Fred and Rita Richman Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, pp. 69, fig. 33


Sibeth, Achim. The Batak. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lime squeezer
  • Artist: Toba Batak artist
  • Date: late 19th–early 20th century
  • Geography: Indonesia, Sumatra
  • Culture: Toba Batak
  • Medium: Wood
  • Dimensions: H. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Implements
  • Credit Line: Gift of Fred and Rita Richman, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.143.113
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Perminangken (container for magical substances), Toba Batak artist, Wood, trade ceramic, Toba Batak
Perminangken (container for magical substances)
Toba Batak artist
19th–early 20th century
Architectural ornament, Toba Batak artist, Wood, Toba Batak
Architectural ornament
Toba Batak artist
late 19th–early 20th century
Perminangken (container for magical substances), Toba Batak artist, Wood, trade porcelain, Toba Batak
Perminangken (container for magical substances)
Toba Batak artist
late 19th–early 20th century
Piso sanalenggam (sword), Toba Batak artist, Water buffalo horn, copper/zinc alloy (sun inlay and end of the handle), lead (necklace and eyes of the handle figure), iron alloy, Toba Batak
Piso sanalenggam (sword)
Toba Batak artist
late 19th–early 20th century
Figure from a lime squeezer, Toba Batak artist, Wood, Toba Batak
Figure from a lime squeezer
Toba Batak artist
late 19th–early 20th century

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.