MICHAEL WOERNER. ORIGINS, Catalogue for TAF Amsterdam, October 2018

Michael Woerner
ORIENTAL ART
ORIGINS
Prehistoric Bronzes and
Ornaments from Indonesia and
Mainland Southeast Asia

MICHAEL WOERNER
Oriental Art
2018
1

M i c h a e l Woerner
Oriental Art 2018
ORIGINS
Prehistoric Bronzes and
Ornaments from Indonesia and
Mainland Southeast Asia
Bangkok · Hong Kong
By appointment
Tel. +66-89-224.9678
micwoerner@yahoo.com
3

Within the circle of Tribal Art fairs worldwide, the Tribal Art Fair Amsterdam has
for many years cultivated and preserved its very own, distinguished position. It is
not a blue print copy of the standardized art fairs in New York, Paris or Brussels.
It intends to be different, of a “human” scale, personal, approachable, easily likeable
and with a wonderful local Dutch ambience. Treasures can be found here year
after year, at still reasonable prices. And indeed, merchants from New York,
Paris and Brussels, even Australia and Asia flock in to find works of art for future
exhibitions of their own.
It is a great delight for us to participate in this event
for the first time. As this is primarily a Tribal Art
Fair with a strong emphasis on Indonesia and
Oceania, the eminent merchant Loed van Bussel,
who sadly passed away earlier this year, once
suggested to entice its visitors with something
“new”: a small, focused exhibition on the roots
of Tribal Art in Indonesia & Oceania. After our
widely acclaimed 2015 exhibition in Brussels
“Dong Son – The Image of Man and Animal in
Early Southeast Asia”, we have the great pleasure to
present in Amsterdam “Origins – Prehistoric
Bronzes and Ornaments from Indonesia and
Mainland Southeast Asia”. May this small
publication be our heartfelt dedication to Loed.
All objects have been sourced from private
collections in Europe, Asia and the U.S.A. Several
of these objects have previously been published
or exhibited in museum shows. As always, every
object is accompanied by a detailed documentation.
Loed van Bussel (1935 – 2018)
We look forward to seeing you in Amsterdam.
MICHAEL WOERNER
Amsterdam, October 2018
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ORIGINS
Prehistoric Bronzes And Ornaments
From Indonesia And Mainland Southeast Asia
Current scholarship places the beginnings of the Bronze Age in Mainland Southeast
Asia into the first half of the first millennium BCE, possibly slightly later in Island
Southeast Asia, today’s Indonesia and the Philippines. The term “Dong Son Culture”,
coined after the type-site in Northern Viet Nam, has generally been used as a
catch-all term for the Southeast Asian Bronze Age. This approach is now under
revision.
Top: Detail of a Pejeng-type Drum (see p. 16).
Java, Bronze/ Iron Age, circa 300 BCE – 200 CE.
Bronze. Width of face circa 12cm.
Archaeological research shows that the bronze
casting technology spread fairly quickly through
Southeast Asia, most likely by trade, inspiration and
wandering craftsmen. But even though technology
was shared, the final products often display
individual styles of insular societies. This is in
particular evident in Indonesia, to where large
Vietnamese “Dong Son” drums were traded, but
where also numerous local products emerged. The
so-called “Pejeng-type” drums share only a few
similarities with their probable inspirations from
Viet Nam. Bronze Age production places in Java
and Bali very quickly developed their own decorative
design language, adjusted to local demands. Chance
finds in Borneo, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Irian
Jaya only confirm this.
Similarities of fairly complex designs on some
Indonesian Bronze Age objects and 1500 - 2000 years
later wood carvings have often invited speculations
about the continuity of ancient traditions
into the present. Political, trade and religious influences
from the 5 th to the 18 th and even 19 th century
apparently had only a limited influence on the
spiritual world of these islands. Ancient traditions
and beliefs, developed since Prehistoric times,
persisted.
Bottom: Coffin end. Borneo, Bahau Dayak, Out of the numerous examples for such a
Wood. C14-dated 17th cent. CE. W circa 40 cm. persistence, we would like to pick here just one.
Private collection. Image courtesy Frank Wiggers. When juxtaposed with a detail of a Pejeng-type
drum from Java (top photo on this page; see also
p. 16), the face of a wood-carved coffin end from the Bahau Dayak of Borneo
(bottom photo on this page) is of a striking similarity.
With our exhibition we try to shed some additional light onto this fascinating
field by displaying a small and diverse group of mostly unpublished bronzes and
ornaments from Indonesia and Mainland Southeast Asia.
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FUNERARY MASK
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Gold. Height 13.2 cm
Provenance: Private Collection Netherlands
(since the 1970s)
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FUNERARY MASK
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Gold. Height 8.6 cm
Provenance: Private Collection Netherlands
(since the 1970s)
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MAMMAL-SHAPED HANDLE
Indonesia, Java, purportedly from Lumajang area
Bronze/ Iron Age, circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Length 8.4 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich
(since the 1980s)
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WARRIOR WITH LONG SWORD
Indonesia, Java, purportedly from Lumajang area
Bronze/ Iron Age, circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Height 11.2 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich
(since the 1980s)
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LADLE WITH RATTLE AND COCK FINIAL
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Length 27 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late
Dr K. Sandmair, Munich
(since the 1980s)
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ANTHROPOMORPHIC LIME CONTAINERS
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Height 9.5 cm and 18.5 cm
Provenance: Private Collection U.S.A. (since 1980s).
Exhibited: Legacies - Masterpieces of Indonesian Art.
Pinacotheque Singapore, May 2015 – May 2016
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SWORD WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC
HANDLE
Indonesia, Java, Iron Age,
Circa 100 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze handle, iron blade
Length 69.5 cm
Provenance: Private Collection
Japan (since 1980s)
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CEREMONIAL HALBERD (CANDRASA)
Indonesia, Eastern Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Length 45 cm
Provenance: Private Collection Japan (since 1980s)
13

DOUBLE-POINTED AXE
WITH ANIMAL HEADS
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Length 23 cm. Width 20.5 cm
Provenance: Private Collection, Singapore (since 1980s)
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LARGE BELL WITH TWO ELEPHANTS
Thailand, purportedly from Chaiyapum area
Bronze Age, circa 500 BCE – 100 BCE
Bronze. Height 34.2 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich (since the 1980s)
15

PEJENG-TYPE DRUM
Fragment with stylized faces
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Length 51 cm
Provenance: Private Collection U.S.A. (since 1980s).
Published: Bruce W. Carpenter, Indonesian Tribal Art. The Rodger Dashow Collection
(Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2012), p. 26.
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PEJENG-TYPE DRUM
An extraordinary tympanum with a pair
of mythical winged dragons
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age, circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Diameter 46 cm. Height 33 cm
Provenance: Private Collection U.S.A. (since 1980s)
Exhibited: Legacies - Masterpieces of Indonesian Art.
Pinacotheque Singapore, May 2015 – May 2016
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ANKLETS
Indonesia, Eastern Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Bronze. Diameter 18 cm
Provenance: Private Collection Netherlands
(since the 1970s)
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SHARK VERTEBRAE NECKLACE
Indonesia, Java, Bronze/ Iron Age,
Circa 300 BCE – 200 CE
Consisting of 36 semi-fossilized shark vertebrae
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich (since the 1980s)
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BUST OF AN ANCESTOR FIGURE
Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi
Circa 1st half of 1st millennium CE
Terracotta. Height: 14 cm
Provenance: Private Collection Japan (since 1980s)
20

JAR LID WITH HUMAN HEAD
Indonesia, Southeast Sulawesi
Circa 1st half of 1st millennium CE
Pottery with red and yellow pigments.
Height 13 cm. Diameter 18 cm
Provenance: Private Collection U.S.A. (since 1980s)
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For their trust and cooperation in the past 29 years, we would like to express our
gratitude to the following institutions:
Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne
Museum der Insel Hombroich, Neuss-Holzheim
Linden-Museum, Sxtuttgart
Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich
Musée Barbier-Mueller, Genève
Museum der Kulturen, Basel
Rietberg-Museum, Zuerich
Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, Paris
Musée des Arts Asiatiques, Nice
Musées Royaux d‘Art et d‘Histoire, Brussels
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The British Museum, London
The British Library, London
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore
Indian Heritage Trust, Singapore
Bangkok University Museum, Bangkok
The Prasart Museum, Bangkok
The Bangkok Insurance Museum, Bangkok
The Suan Pakkad Palace Collection, Bangkok
T. T. Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong
The Ayala Museum, Manila
The Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo
Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo
Idemitsu Museum, Tokyo
The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara
Miho Museum, Shigaraki
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Asia Society, New York
The Rubin Museum of Art, New York
Newark Museum, Newark
The Fine Arts Museum, Boston
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
The MacLean Collection of Art, Mundelein, Illinois
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis
The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama
The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas
The Fine Arts Museum, Houston
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
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Publishing an exhibition catalogue is a collective endeavor and joy. As previously
mentioned, the inspiration for this theme exhibition came from our eminent,
late colleague Loed van Bussel (1935 – 2018), for whose sharp and focused mind,
wit and inspiring intellect I always had great respect and appreciation. Finette
Lemaire, the cheerful and charming organizer of the TAF – Tribal Fair Amsterdam
deserves a particular Thank you for her support during our preparations for the
2018 TAF Amsterdam event.
Our esteemed photographer friend Frédéric Dehaen, Brussels, continues to delight
us with his professionalism and kindness. Thank you, Frédéric ! My appreciation
also goes to Jörg Schanze (photo of back cover) and Scott McCue (photos pp. 5,
16), as well as to Frank Wiggers.
Mrs Petra Trempelmann - in cooperation with Mr Henrikus Simonis, Düsseldorf -
has been producing and printing our catalogues for a number years. I am very
grateful to both of them and to the team of Das Druckhaus, Korschenbroich, for
their professional and always warmhearted work.
Last not least a heartfelt Thank You to everyone in my family, big and small, near
and far, for your understanding, care and support during this busy time. It could
not have been done without you.
MICHAEL WOERNER
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COVER PHOTOS
Front cover:
SWORD WITH ANTHROPOMORPHIC HANDLE (detail)
See page 12.
Frontispiece:
THE BIRDMAN IDOL
Thailand, purportedly from Chaiyapum area
Bronze Age or Neolithic, circa 1st millennium BCE
Stone. Height 21.5 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich (since the 1980s)
Back cover:
BRACELETS WITH STYLIZED ELEPHANTS
Northeastern Thailand
Bronze Age, circa 500 BCE – 100 BCE
Bronze. Diameter 8.5 cm and 9.0 cm. Height of elephants 6.3 cm
Provenance: Collection of the late Dr K. Sandmair, Munich (since the 1980s)
© Michael Woerner – Oriental Art, October 2018
Bangkok - Hong Kong
By appointment
Tel. +66-89-224.9678
micwoerner@yahoo.com
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M i c h a e l Woerner
Oriental Art
Bangkok · Hong Kong
By appointment
Tel. +66-89-224.9678
micwoerner@yahoo.com