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Itara (ancestor figure)

late 19th–early 20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 350
The wood sculpture of Ataúro island consists primarily of ancestor images (itara). Carved in male/female pairs, itara portray distant ancestral couples, the founders of specific families and lineages. When in use, each figure is clad in the garments appropriate to its sex, the male in a loincloth and the female in a skirt. The images are kept within the house of the lineage chief, where they were hung, together with other sacred objects, from a sacred rack (ruma tara) attached to one of the house posts. The exact function of the figures remains uncertain. However, they are reportedly used in the detection of thieves, the ancestral spirits going forth in pursuit of the culprits, and also in rites devoted to two local deities, in which five itara are assembled to form the crew of a miniature boat.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Itara (ancestor figure)
  • Artist: Ataúro Island artists
  • Date: late 19th–early 20th century
  • Geography: Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Atauro Island
  • Culture: Atauro Island
  • Medium: Wood
  • Dimensions: H. 11 1/4 × W. 2 3/16 × D. 2 1/8 in. (28.6 × 5.6 × 5.4 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Fred and Rita Richman, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.143.179
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Itara (ancestor figures), Ataúro Island artists, Wood, cloth, fiber, Atauro Island
Itara (ancestor figures)
Ataúro Island artists
late 19th–early 20th century
Biola (mask), Timor Island artist, Wood, fiber, traces of paint, lime, hair, Probably Timor-Leste (East Timor)
Biola (mask)
Timor Island artist
19th–early 20th century
Male Figure (Itara), Wood, fiber, Atauro Island
Male Figure (Itara)
Atauro Island
late 19th–early 20th century
Ancestor Figure (Itara), Wood, Atauro Island
Ancestor Figure (Itara)
Atauro Island
late 19th–early 20th century
Hampatong (figure), Ngadju or Ot Danum artist, Wood, pigment, Ngadju or Ot Danum
Hampatong (figure)
Ngadju or Ot Danum artist
19th–early 20th century

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