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Protective Statue, Pagar, 19th century
Wood, metal, goat hide with hair
45 x 5 x 10 (114.3 x 12.7 x 25.4 cm)
Gift of George and Marie Hecksher 2005.140.1

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: Dr. and Mrs. Robert Kuhn, Los Angeles, 1999 PUBLICATIONS: 2009 FAM Bulletin entry (unabridged) - "Batak carvers kept a variety of apotropaic statues (pagar) and ancestor images (debata idup) inside their houses. (1) Debata idup if properly propitiated could advise, aid, and shield the living in an unbroken chain of communication with their ancestors. In contrast, pagar can be thought of as supra-sentinels; a force majeure that could detect and fend off intruders, or neutralize black magic. As psychic weapons or lethal instruments, pagar could be used for both defensive and offensive purposes. It is not entirely clear how this impressive figure was used. It is the largest of a trio of images from one house that were possibly made by the same hand. (2) The other two are on permanent display at the Dallas Museum. (3) Dallas' figures are certainly pagar as they were charged with a magical substance, puk-puk, to empower them with life force, and to make them subservient to a datu or ritual priest's will or purpose. This statue has been ritually fed and anointed, but lacks the addition of puk-puk. This may suggest a figure of ancestral import, but it is most likely a pagar. (4) The Batak excelled at carving in minutiae, but wooden figures in the round are usually crude when compared to often well-executed smaller items. This statue is a notable exception to that axiom. Out-reaching over-sized hands, vigilant all-seeing eyes, and a ready-for-action stance are timeless projections, reminding us that every age and culture cultivates imagery to project power and engender protection." FOOTNOTES (1) Resources used for entry: Sibeth, Achim, and Bruce W. Carpenter, Batak Sculpture (Editions Didie Millet 2007), 24-25; Sibeth, Achim, The Batak, Peoples of the Island of Sumatra (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991); Feldman, Jerome, ed. The eloquent dead : ancestral sculpture of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. (Los Angeles : UCLA Museum of Cultural History, 1985), 88. (2) Alpert 1978 (3) Dallas Museum of Art, Website: Collections/Pacific Islands/page 2, item 7, page 3, item 1, 1982.31 & 1984.82 unpublished (4) Personal communication with Achim Sibeth

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Pagar Statue Protective Hecksher Marie George Gift 1999 Angeles Los Kuhn Robert Mrs Dr people Batak Toba Oceania Sumatra North Indonesia Sculpture hair hide goat time over use smoke exposure coating dark surface feeding ritual wear stains deposits mouth nails head attached mane horse piece eyes metal inlaid figure wood Carved 0321200810400003 A310105 2005.140.1 AOA