GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A prominent and widespread theme of the art of Borneo is a mythical animal that combines attributes of the dog and dragon in a single creature called aso. This animal signifies protection and status, and use of the image is traditionally restricted to the upper class. The animals’ notched tails indicate that the objects functioned as supports for a horizontal member that together comprised either a low table or bench. The dogs, two of an original group of four sculptures, would have faced outward at the corners, their tails supporting the horizontal member with pegs or dowels. In Kayan culture, low tables were the prerogative of the elite. The tables are said to commemorate the prowess of the Kayan warrior. They functioned to receive ritual offerings.
Adapted from
- "Pair of mythical animals (asos)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Bonnie Pitman (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), 115.
- Steven G. Alpert, "Pair of mythical aso," in Eyes of the Ancestors: The Arts of Island Southeast Asia at the Dallas Museum of Art, ed. Reimar Schefold in collaboration with Steven Alpert (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2013), 130.
NOTES
HAB separated this into two notes instead of one 10/25/18
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apply to objects where number equals 1995.34.1
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General Description
A prominent and widespread theme of the art of Borneo is a mythical animal that combines attributes of the dog and dragon in a single creature called aso. This animal signifies protection and status, and use of the image is traditionally restricted to the upper class. The animals’ notched tails indicate that the objects functioned as supports for a horizontal member that together comprised either a low table or bench. The dogs, two of an original group of four sculptures, would have faced outward at the corners, their tails supporting the horizontal member with pegs or dowels. In Kayan culture, low tables were the prerogative of the elite. The tables are said to commemorate the prowess of the Kayan warrior. They functioned to receive ritual offerings.
Adapted from
- "Pair of mythical animals (asos)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Bonnie Pitman (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), 115.
- Steven G. Alpert, "Pair of mythical aso," in Eyes of the Ancestors: The Arts of Island Southeast Asia at the Dallas Museum of Art, ed. Reimar Schefold in collaboration with Steven Alpert (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2013), 130.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
HAB separated this into two notes instead of one 10/25/18
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1995.34.1
source file
object_notes_2_b-0306.xml.nores