Power Bundle / Medicine Bag

Masuane culture, Ceram (Indonesia)

XXth century, field collection.

Taken from the exhibition Le Monde Premier "Sac de chamane, Outils de divination pour appeler les esprits.

A rare and visually intense shamanic assemblage, consisting of a dense collection of organic elements including long bones, vertebrae, mandible fragments, teeth and various animal remains, held in an ancient net of plant fibers.

The construction, deliberately irregular and compact, forms a coherent mass of suspended elements, each participating in the object's symbolic and ritual charge. The whole exhibits a deep, homogeneous patina and traces of prolonged use, notably visible in the wear of the fibrous network and the natural aging of the bone materials.

These objects were used as personal ritual instruments, serving as receptacles for spiritual forces. They combined protective, curative and potentially offensive functions. Each element is chosen not for aesthetic balance, but for its symbolic power, constituting a complex system of accumulated energies.

This specimen stands out for the remarkable density of its composition, the coherence of its assembly and the total absence of decorative intent, confirming its status as an authentic field object, as opposed to productions destined for the market.

Essentially, this piece is the exact copy reproduced in Jean-Pierre Dutilleux's reference work, TRIBES - The First People (Éditions Vilo), making it a documented, individually identifiable and non-substitutable object.

Provenance

Jean-Pierre Dutilleux Collection

Collected in situ during field missions

Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity

Published

Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, TRIBES - The First People, Éditions Vilo

(This copy is the one reproduced in the book)

Exhibition: Monde Premier - Jean-Pierre Dutilleux