Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Sumatra, Toba Batak, ca. mid to late 20th century CE. A divination tool called a porhalaan, a calendar or almanac fashioned from a buffalo scapula with incised Batak script, low-relief carvings, and etched figural imagery. The neck of the bone has a low-relief anthropomorphic face and lizard, and the raised spine has been shaped into another lizard. One side is incised with a rectangle divided into thirty columns representing days and twelve horizontal divisions marking months; the other carries an additional diagram, an intersecting-line motif flanked by two lizards. The esoteric knowledge required to read such objects was the exclusive domain of the datu (priest-magician), who consulted the porhalaan to determine auspicious timing for hunting, ritual events, and other activities rather than to track time in a conventional sense. Size: 12.75" W x 2" H x 7" D (32.4 cm W x 5.1 cm H x 17.8 cm D).

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection

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Item # 203456

  • Condition: Excellent. Intact with some natural bone pitting.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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