ANTIQUE INDONESIAN TIMOR ATONI TRIBE GUNPOWDER CONTAINER ARTIFACT

Description

Antique Indonesian Timor Atoni Tribe Gunpowder Container Artifact. A very knowledgeable customer has shared a link to a prestigious museum collection of a similar piece - although I believe that my piece is superior in terms of materials used and condition - that I attach for your perusal, to give credit where credit is obviously due  He has also provided valuable information about this beautiful piece that I quote verbatim, as follows:
Often they are attached to antique, aluk betel nut bags carried by Atoni men over their shoulder and the dugong tooth and white seashells act as a counter weight to the weight of the bag and betel nut ingredients. As for the smell of gunpowder, it probably hasn't had gunpowder in it for well over 100 years and could have possibly been washed out sometime during the last 150 years.
Please refer to, copy and paste the following link, which highlights a similar specimen for further guidance: https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/554.2010/
I have adopted Douglas Dawson's central insight about indigenous art vis-a-vis Western Modern art for these listings.  This piece is one example of exactly what he means. Like Claude Levi-Strauss, the greatest anthropologist-thinker of the 20th century, Dawson, a renowned scholar/expert and art dealer, is, in effect, gently saying that there is, fundamentally, NO difference between the primitive mind ("pensee sauvage") and the modern mind, and that every collector will benefit immeasurably from thinking of indigenous art as on par with Western art instead of the hierarchical thinking that puts Western art at the top and indigenous as inferior therefore below it.  The Minimalist aesthetics of this Timor Atoni gunpowder container specimen anticipate contemporary Minimalism, one of the three dominant artistic movements of our time.  Contemporary Minimalism is a recurrence, so inherent to human creativity, that rejects the ideologically-based idea of "progress" in Western art.
Very Fine.  Very beautiful patina, smooth to one’s touch from previous use and generations of human touch. No contemporary repair.
Large size:  27 inches from tip of the container itself to tip of the cloth string.
It is not especially heavy (about 3 pounds) but is irregularly-sized.  USPS will charge shipping on the basis of both its weight AND dimensions.
"The importance of ethnic and tribal art cannot be overstated. Its complex history with Modernism is intriguing and complex. Each informs the other. For anyone interested in how the human mind is compelled to make experience tangible, then one must consider this art. Look at it, wonder about it, live with it, be inspired by it, and let it broaden your world” (Douglas Dawson).
PLEASE NOTE:  I MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO DESCRIBE ANY FLAW OR IMPERFECTION, IF THERE ARE ANY.  HOWEVER, ANTIQUE, VINTAGE, AND OTHERWISE OLD PIECES NATURALLY HAVE IMPERFECTIONS, WHICH ENHANCE, NOT DETRACT FROM, THEIR VALUE AND AUTHENTICITY.  IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR PERFECTION, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY BUYING AND COLLECTING ANTIQUES OR VINTAGE PIECES, AND THE POINT OF BUYING AND COLLECTING IS HAPPINESS.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS PLAIN LIFE.
SHIPPING IS BASED ON WEIGHT, SHIPPING METHOD (ECONOMY OR PRIORITY/EXPEDITED) THAT YOU SELECTED, AND YOUR ADDRESS/DESTINATION.  AS A GENERAL RULE, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME ABOUT SHIPPING COST IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE YOUR SAVINGS.
FOREIGN COLLECTORS WELCOME.  PLEASE CONTACT ME FIRST BEFORE BUYING, MAKING AN OFFER, OR PAYING BECAUSE USPS HAVE CHANGED ITS POLICIES WITH REGARD TO INTERNATIONAL PARCELS.
Please note: I am unable to ship abroad using First Class Letter Mail or Air Mail Parcel Post as NEITHER service is trackable, which is now a mandatory requirement of both Paypal and eBay for all of my transactions.  The reason: Far too many items, including postcards I have shipped using Letter Mail in the past, were either lost in transit or reported by their buyers as "Item Not Received".  This is quite a hassle, and is simply not worth it.  So the cheapest shipping method wherever available, is via either USPS Priority Mail Flat-Rate Envelope or USPS Priority Mail Box, which includes Tracking, Delivery Confirmation, and Full Insurance.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
I DO
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