Male protective figure (pagar)

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This protective figure is one of a pair; the Dallas Museum of Art also owns the female counterpart to this male figure. A third figure is said to have originally accompanied this pair, which the previous owner could neither see nor buy.

The Art of the Batak

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Batak art objects at the Dallas Museum of Art come exclusively from the Toba, one of the six ethnic groups included under the umbrella term “Batak.”  The general remarks about Batak culture and art that follow apply primarily to the Toba Batak.

Borneo: The Island—Its Peoples

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Bigger than the state of Texas and more than seventeen times larger than the Netherlands, Borneo is the world’s third-largest island. Since 1963, it has been divided among East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah), the oil-rich Sultanate of Brunei, and Indonesia (Kalimantan).

Standing guardian figure (tepatung)

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This statue was excavated from a river's bank in the upper reaches of the Mahakam River system in southeastern Borneo. It belongs to a small group of ancient pieces that have either been found in caves, or have been partially exposed as rivers rise and fall and change their course. This statue was partially exposed and then excavated from the riverbank of Sungai Belayan after the recession of a major flood.
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