Dayak coffin

Date: 19^th century

Geography: Borneo, Indonesia

Culture: Dayak

Medium: Very dense iron wood

Dimensions: 240 x 30 x 25 cm

Condition: Good

Comes on a custom made metal stand

Free shipping

Ancient boat shaped dayak coffin from central Kalimantan in Indonesia. This coffin has an interesting collection history: it was purchased in Manila, Philippines by a German collector in the 1980’s. They told it was smuggled from the Indonesian island of Borneo to the Philippines to be sold there.

It represents a boat in which the deceases person travels into the afterlife.

Ref: Sellato: Hornbill and Dragon. 1989 page 245, Fig 431-435