1912.54.2

Collection type

Object

Description

Carved and painted face of a demon or mythical animal. Blue face with two horns and four long tusk-like teeth. [SM (Verve) 13/05/2013]

Long description

Carved and painted face of a demon or mythical animal. Blue face with two horns and four long tusk-like teeth. The face is painted blue, red and white with detail in black. The mouth is carved open and the back of the face is hollowed out with a rectangular perforation towards the bottom, presumably to insert a support or similar. The face has red eyes and the ears are elaborately decorated with scrolling carving. The blue horns are carved from separate pieces of wood that are attached into the head with cylindrical joints. The smaller white horns on the side of the face are also attached like this. [SM (Verve) 13/05/2013]

Geographical reference

Indonesia

Asia > South-eastern Asia > Indonesia

Bali

Person

Field collector Henry Nicholas Ridley

PRM source Henry Nicholas Ridley

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1912

Date collected

By 1912

Acquisition information

Donated: 1912

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Painted, Process Perforated

Dimensions

Height: max 358 mm, Depth: max 240 mm, Width: max 870 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1912.54.2

Associated publications

Published as a PRM Postcard (number 117) in 2000. Caption reads: 'Carved and painted wooden face of Bhoma. Bhoma is the Son of the Earth and his leering face, fangs and bulging eyes keep evil forces away. He stares down from the main gate of most Balinese temples. This face of Bhoma, however, was probably intended as part of a tower to be burnt at a cremation. Indonesia, Bali (1912.54.2).' [JC 17 7 2003] Trails - This object appears in the trail 'Unseen masks of the Pitt Rivers Museum' (current from March 2005) [RTS 15/4/2005]. Illustrated in colour on page 3 of Particularly Ravishing Morsels: Recipes from Around the World Inspired by the Collections, by The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum (no place [Oxford], no publisher [Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum], no date [2007]). It is used to llustrate a recipe for 'Liliane's Lime Carrot Salad' by Isabella Whitworth and is captioned 'Carved and painted wooden face of Bhoma, Son of the Earth. Bali, Indonesia. 1912.54.2'. [JC 25 4 2008] Illustrated in colour on page 10 of The Pitt Rivers Museum: An Introduction (Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, 2009). Caption (on page 11) reads: 'the face of a demon or mythical animal from Indonesia'. [JC 27 8 2009]

Search terms: Ritual and Ceremonial, Religion, Death, Figure, Ceremonial Object, Religious Object, Animal Figure