Introduction:

We will be putting up for auction ~60 tribal pieces from the tribal regions in the Philippines, notably from the Mountain Province on Luzon but one or two from Mindanao. See these in Photos 8, 9, 10, and 11. Most of these antique primitive tribal pieces are from the so-called Ifugao people, the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines. These people are often referred to as the Cordilleran peoples. 

We lived in the Philippines for a decade beginning in 1985. Several times we visited the rugged Mountain Province in northern Luzon and the magnificent rice terraces there (see https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-breathtaking-ifugao-rice-terraces-of-the-philippine-cordilleras), north of Bagio City. Our interest in the life of these peoples was piqued, and as a consequence we built up a modest collection of "primitive artifacts." This collection is wide in nature, most is Colonial era of the early 20th century (some later into the 1950, possibly early 1960s), it includes a magnificent plow, hut ladder, spear, drum, many baskets of various types and utilities, wooden bowls and other wooden objects some with animal or human forms, spoons, textiles, beaded bags, rattan woven hats worn by older men, a rice cutting tool, betel box, gong, and Bulul (rice god) figures on several.

We purchased most of these piece from 1986 to 1989. Almost all were purchased from highly reputable dealers, for example, The Tribal Arts House of Henry N. Beyer in Manila, Tawalisi Antiques of Maria Roxas in Manila, Tucucan Antiques in Bagio City, Artifact and Baskets of Mary Ngalawen in Manila, Herencia Arts & Antiques in Manila. We also purchased pieces at small local shops in Bontoc, the principal city in the Mountain Province.

Please read everything, ask questions, and request more pictures. If you are in Japan, China or the Philippines, and want to bid on a piece, please write to me before bidding. The shipping cost does not include for overseas shipping. An adjustment must be made to shipping. Also, I can combine shipping but the rate needs to reflect the larger shipping box and higher weight. We will ensure the piece is packed well.

The auction item:

This (19cmx20.5cm or 7.5"x8.25") Ifugao basket is beautifully made and has no obvious damage as seen in Photos 1 to 5. The lines and form are terrific, and the complex basketry is tight fitting. The basket has four smaller but wider loops near the lid, as seen in Photos 1 to 3. The woven rattan is exceptionally well done, tight, nearly flawless craftsmanship. The manner of construction at the base uses an interesting double woven technique as seen in Photo 4. The color on both is brown, darker in recesses and along coiling, but very slightly lighter inside where it was not exposed. See in Photos 1 to 5, the coil weaving. These pieces were cared for, lightly used. We were told that these types of baskets stored rice and possibly root vegetables. These pieces may be pre-WWII, but they could be as late as the 1950s. We've owned it since the mid-1980s, ~40 years. The pieces have received very little handling by us, just displayed in our home.

No pets, no smoking.

Our story:

We lived in the Philippines for nearly a decade beginning in 1985. From 1986 to 1989, we collected a number of old tribal artifacts. Our pieces were represented as being from the late 19th century to pre-WWII.  We are now selling these pieces as we downsize. We are not experts, we cannot authenticate our pieces. These pieces, the vast majority at least, look quite old. We genuinely believe these are vintage genuine pieces, each with their own charm. Just holding an item that may be 120 to 70 years old from the Mountain Provence of the Philippines makes for great conversation. 

Two source we've relied on are, "The People and Art of the Philippines", by Father Gabriel Casal, Regalado Trota Jose, Jr. and others, 1981, Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles. The second was published in July-August 1983, in Arts of Asia, "Northern Philippines Primitive Wooden Art," by Pynky Gomez Garcia, pages 84-93. 


Thank you for looking.