Shaman’s Medicine Container Stopper
Ngaju Dayak, Borneo
Late 19th – early 20th c.
Provenance; Rodger Dashow Collection, Boston. By descent to family member.
Published: “Indonesian Tribal Art”. 2015, pg. 243
This exquisitely carved wooden stopper once sealed a bamboo medicine container used by a Dayak shaman. Far more than a functional element, it serves as a deeply symbolic object, enhancing and protecting the sacred contents it guarded.
The stopper takes the form of a mother tenderly cradling her child—a rare “Madonna”-like motif in Dayak art. Children hold profound emotional and spiritual value in Dayak culture; they are beloved as the future of the community and often appear in sculpture, sometimes depicted riding on the backs of their parents.
In this context, the maternal imagery of the stopper acquires added layers of meaning. The act of sealing the container with a figure of nurturing and care transforms the vessel into a symbolic womb—preserving not only medicine but the healing, ancestral power believed to reside within. The mother-and-child figure may have been seen as an embodiment of both human and spiritual caretaking, reinforcing the protective and restorative role of the shaman.
The carving is remarkable for its sensitive detail and emotional expressiveness, rendered in soft curves and gentle gestures. A dark, encrusted patina bears witness to its use in repeated ritual offerings—evidence of a long life in ceremonial practice.
Size
Height: 5 ¼ in / 13.3 cm
Item
IN 7-4-25 / Price on request
Gallery
Shaman’s Medicine Container Stopper
Ngaju Dayak, Borneo
Late 19th – early 20th c.
Provenance; Rodger Dashow Collection, Boston. By descent to family member.
Published: “Indonesian Tribal Art”. 2015, pg. 243
This exquisitely carved wooden stopper once sealed a bamboo medicine container used by a Dayak shaman. Far more than a functional element, it serves as a deeply symbolic object, enhancing and protecting the sacred contents it guarded.
The stopper takes the form of a mother tenderly cradling her child—a rare “Madonna”-like motif in Dayak art. Children hold profound emotional and spiritual value in Dayak culture; they are beloved as the future of the community and often appear in sculpture, sometimes depicted riding on the backs of their parents.
In this context, the maternal imagery of the stopper acquires added layers of meaning. The act of sealing the container with a figure of nurturing and care transforms the vessel into a symbolic womb—preserving not only medicine but the healing, ancestral power believed to reside within. The mother-and-child figure may have been seen as an embodiment of both human and spiritual caretaking, reinforcing the protective and restorative role of the shaman.
The carving is remarkable for its sensitive detail and emotional expressiveness, rendered in soft curves and gentle gestures. A dark, encrusted patina bears witness to its use in repeated ritual offerings—evidence of a long life in ceremonial practice.
Size
Height: 5 ¼ in / 13.3 cm
Item
IN 7-4-25 / Price on request
Gallery