The Vietnamese funerary pieces featured in our collection, dating from the 1960’s or earlier, were sculpted from local wood (ironwood) for burial sites of the Jarai (also called Gia Rai) people, an ethnic minority group in Vietnam’s central highlands known for their elaborate funerals. Ancestor worship plays a big role in their traditional culture. Most figurative sculpture produced there was used in ancestral and funerary rites.

Such sculptures typically depict humans, animals and often  birds. Peacocks perched on elephant tusks are a special motif. For the animist Jarai, burial rites are important to ensure the soul’s safe passage to the next world where it will join the ranks of the deified spirits of ancestors. Traditional Jarai tombs are small huts containing offerings surrounded by wooden pillars which are topped by such animal/human/bird carvings - avatars of spiritual guardians during and after the funerary ceremony.

Representing animal spirits and providing a symbolic link to the heavenly realm of the netherworld, bird sculptures are prominent at these burial sites. After the funeral  ceremony the graves are ritually abandoned to allow both the living and the dead to move on. The site is reclaimed by nature, and the sculpted images are left to disintegrate.

Baby carrier, Orang Ulu people of the Kenyah tribe, Northeastern Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, early 20th century. Beadwork, shells, rattan, antique bells, wild boar tusk.

Intricately beaded and embellished baby carriers are used by Orang Ulu women to carry their young infants. Large beads and bells are typically attached to the upper rim of the carrier, serving both to indicate status and to soothe the toddler with their tinkling. For the Orang Ulu rank and its associated symbolism are serious to cement their place in their community.  

The Dayak people of Borneo believe that a ship carries the souls of the dead to the afterlife, and that a 'good' death marks the beginning of the journey to join the ancestors

The pieces featured here was sculpted from ironwood or other local hardwood for burial sites of the Jarai (also Gia Rai) people, an ethnic minority group in Vietnam’s central highlands known for their elaborate funerals. 

Traditional Gia Rai tombs are small huts containing offerings surrounded by wooden pillars which are topped by such animal or human image carvings - avatars of spiritual guardians during and after the funerary ceremony. Representing animal spirits and providing a symbolic link to the heavenly realm of the netherworld, peacock sculptures are prominent at these burial sites. 

After the funeral  ceremony the graves are ritually abandoned to allow both the living and the dead to move on. The site is reclaimed by nature, and the sculpted images are left to disintegrate.