Central Nias, male ancestor figure, adu zatua,

Central Nias, male ancestor figure, adu zatua, wearing a three-pronged crown, an earring, necklace and an armband to the right, holding a peg or pestle resting on the thighs in both hands, incised details. H. 29,5 cm. Acquired on Nias by the artist Rudolf Bonnet (1895-1978) in 1930; given by him to his brother Wim Bonnet (+1933), a physician on Java, the grandfather of the present owner.Provenance: Collected on Nias in 1930 by Rudolph Bonnet(1895-1978) and Jaap Kunst (1891-1960); Collection Baronnes Bonnet - van Verschuer; Her daughter Liesbeth Vlaanderen-Bonnet and family collection van Vlaanderen. The Baronnes was married to Wim Bonnet (- 1933), the brother of the famous Dutch painter Rudolph Bonnet (1895-1978). This statue was acquired in 1930 on the island Nias by Rudolph Bonnet when he travelled to Nias with his friend the renowned Dutch pioneer in ethnomusicology Jaap Kunst (1891-1960). They collected several Nias figures. Later Rudolph Bonnet send his part of the collection to his younger brother Wim Bonnet, who was a practitioner on Java. Wim Bonnet died unexpectatly in 1933 and his wife left for Holland with her children together with the collection of Nias figures of Rudolph Bonnet. During WWII most of the Nias figures were lost, taken by the occupier and never seen again. This Nias figure is one of the four Nias figures we are offering that were were not lost after the War. [1]