In Timor as with many traditional cultures, livestock constitutes a family’s wealth. The Timorese traditionally and ritually kill animals for ceremony such as Weddings and Funerals and as a supplementary food source. True to making the best use of the materials at hand Timor has a long tradition of carving bone and horn imbibing them with Atoni totemic guardian spirits.
Skulls are inscribed and carved for various purposes. Generally, it is to do with the crop success and ensuring health and wealth of the owner and clan. Skulls offered in this section are mostly older pieces that have gained their colouration or patina through being stored inside the huts between uses.
There are two main bone carving villages high in the mountains of central West Timor whose artists provide the needs of the entire western half of the island. Young and old, the carvers create some of the most breath-taking scrimshaw being produced in the world today. See also under Betel Nut-Bone Containers.
I am able to offer you this fine selection of horse, cow, goat, pig and dog. All bone and horn items have been Gamma Radiated to AQIS Standards.