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 7 to 10. 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 Ifugao Gadang Ceremonial Headcloth (~60cm x 60cm or 25"x25") is nicely made and has no damage, as seen in Photos 1 to 6. Photo 2 shows a historic photo of a similar scarf draped around a man's neck and shoulders. Photos 4 and 5 further detail the beaded ends of the headcloth. The beaded work is excellent, and the headcloth is excellent. The bead work is in one direction on three corners of the headcloth, and turned on other side for one corner. This ceremonial piece was very well cared for, used little. This was made in the Mt. Province, possibly from cloth and beads that they acquired. The Ifugao women are noted and superb weavers and this cloth may have been made by them, but we cannot make that claim since we don't know.

We purchased this piece in Baguio in 1986, nearly ~40 years ago. The piece has received very little handling by us, just displayed in our home out of direct sunlight.

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 sources 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.