Timor head band, Indonesia

Timor Warrior’s head band (Atoni tribe), Indonesia. In the past, warriors, meo, would wear a woven headband decorated with sewn-on silver discs around their heads. Endowed with a sacred character, headhunting was a type of initiation ritual that confirmed the meo’s accession to the status of invulnerable man.

Cotton, silver, and glass beads.

Provenance: Spanish private collection.

Dimensions:49 x 42 cm
Total length of the band 105 cm

Literature:

“Parures ethniques. Le culte de la beauté”, Geoffroy-Schneiter, Bérénice, Assouline, Paris, 2001, p. 221
“Ethnic jewellery from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands”, The pepin Press, 2002, p.240
“Power and gold: jewelry from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines”, Rodgers, Susan, Presteg Verlag, Geneve, 1988, p. 150
“Ethnic Jewelry from Indonesia”, Carpenter, Bruce W., Editions Didier Millet, 2011, p 264
“Le Monde en Tete”, Seuil, 2019