NIAS ISLAND, Indonesia, Hardwood, beautiful dark brown patina. Rare altar-panel "Daro ndra ama" adorning one of the interior partitions of the house of the king of "Bawomataluo" in the south of the island of Nias, commemorating a festival of rank. Rectangular in shape, this superb panel is carved in high relief with an ancestral figure, "adu", shown seated, wearing the high golden crown, "takula ana'a", reserved for high-ranking figures. This exceptional panel, with its rare finesse of carving, is richly symbolic (female headdresses made of golden branches, once worn by priestesses, wives or daughters of nobles, a stylised buffalo head, saita motifs, earrings, a small jewellery box, a twisted necklace (nifatali)). Height: 53 cm. Width: 39 cm. Literature: "NIAS", tribal treasures. Cosmic reflections in stone, wood and gold. Volkenkunding Museum Nusantara, Delft, 1990. Provenance: Collected in situ in 1974 by Jacques Cortecero in the village of Bawomataluo in the south of the island of Nias.