Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Sulawesi, Toraja region, mid-20th century. A carving of a skeletal figure with a skull face and ribs, carved from bone, hunched with hands brought to the face.

Among the Toraja, the dead remain part of family life: elaborate funerals, rock-cut graves and tau-tau effigies keep the ancestors present. According to its earlier description, this piece was carved from human bone recovered from a grave and used to seek the ancestors’ advice.