Over the entrances to their houses, Toba Batak people put up faces like these to confront visitors coming to do harm. Singa means lion, and these heads have wide-open eyes to stare down any supernatural enemies. Swirling hair and curling designs communicate the active force of this creature that protects the house and everyone who lives there.
Wood with polychrome
24 x 10 1/2 x 2 1/2 in. (60.96 x 26.67 x 6.35 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
50.172.2
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Now on view at the
Asian Art Museum
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.