Rome, Italy
Terms of sale
View demo
Absentee bids should be sent within the 8.00pm CEST of 11 July 2020
The auction has ended
|
LOT 200:
A LARGE CAST BRONZE GONG, TAWAK-TAWAK Borneo, 19th century 9 x 47 cm Finely decorated on the external surface with ...
more...
|
|
|
Start price:
€
500
Buyer's Premium: 25%
More details
|
A LARGE CAST BRONZE GONG, TAWAK-TAWAK Borneo, 19th century 9 x 47 cm Finely decorated on the external surface with three Chinese-style dragons amidst sinuous vegetable scrolls, with a bronze suspension chain. Provenance: the collection of a Dutch noblewoman lived in Indonesia, acquired before 1975. Tawak-tawak gongs were usually used as signal to call people, but it was also attributed to them a magical power against demons; furthermore, they were considered symbols of authority and sometimes used as a kind of currency. A very similar gong is in the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. RV-893-107).
