Lute, Hasapi

Batak tribe, Sumatra Indonesia
Early 20th c

Provenance: Lawrence Grant, NYC, retired insurance executive who acquired this Lute when he was working in Singapore between 1981-1985.

The Toba Batak people of northern Sumatra create elegant two-stringed lutes known as hasapi. In the past, most Batak music was sacred and, among other contexts, the hasapi was played as part of a love magic ritual designed to win a woman’s affections. At the top this example is adorned with a seated ancestor figure carved in an archaic style. Its dark and encrusted patina is superb.