Ritual + Culture / A TOBA-BATAK OMEGA-FORM GOLD EARRING, DURI-DURI SUMATRA, INDONESIA, 19TH-20TH CENTURY
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A TOBA-BATAK OMEGA-FORM GOLD EARRING, DURI-DURI
4.8 cm x 3.8 cm
19.408 g
Footnotes
A highly ornamental gold or gilt metal earring with duri duri (thorn) projections, meant to be worn by a man or used to adorn statues. Reminiscent of the archaic omega shape ubiquitous to insular Southeast Asia, these are referred to as simanjomak in the Simanindo region of North Samosir island in Lake Toba.
An earring of very similar style is identified at the National Museum, Jakarta as originating from the old court culture of Palembang. According to (Rodgers, 1985), this form displays the Batak adoption of a more general Sumatran and Malay style.
References
Rodgers, S. and Ferrazzini, P. (1985). Power and gold: Jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Geneva: Barbier-Müller Museum, cat. 19, 20, pp. 59, 276, 321.
Carpenter, B., Heurtault, P. and Guerreiro, A. (2011). Ethnic jewellery from Indonesia. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, pp. 64.