Very rare pair of large carved tribal doors from the Toraja tribal area, Sulawesi, Indonesia, c1850. The Toraja live in a mountainous area of South Sulawesi island .Most probably old doors from an ancestral house (Tongkonan) or rice granary doors, these are a particularly large (almost 5 feet tall) , very heavy and well carved examples seldom seen in the UK. The doors are beautifully carved in high relief with a central figure holding a chicken, standing on the head of a water buffalo holding onto the animal''s horn. There are further smaller depictions of water buffalo above the central motif. The traditional Toraja religion, known as ''aluk to dolo'' venerates the water buffalo as their most auspicious animal totem and at great funerals and other ceremonies they are sacrificed to accompany the dead to the next world. This depiction is therefore highly symbolic and the quality of the doors indicates they would have been prestige pieces highly valued by the Toraja. Overall condition is...