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Ilongot head-hunter ear ornaments browse these categories for related items... Directory: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian: Southeast Asian: Folk Art: Pre 1950: item # 947820 Please refer to our stock # ILG003 when inquiring.
Bundok Antiques Queens, New York City Guest Book $190 |
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| A pair of male Ilongot ear ornaments (locally called “batling") from the Ilongot people of northern Luzon, Philippines circa 1940-1950. The “batling”, worn hanging from the top of the pierced earlobe, is made of parts of the scarlet "kalaw" bird’s beak, cut angularly; it is decorated with a chain of worked brass wires alternated with tiny disks of mother-of-pearls beautifully serrated along the edges and chevron-shaped mother-of-pearls dangling from the metal attachment. The acute angle is the Ilongot’s symbol for forceful and intense beauty. Among the Ilongots only those who had taken human heads had the right to wear the “batling”. It would have been a sight of an Ilongot warrior wearing the "batling", the mother-of-pearls glistening and the red beak glowing against the sunlight. In excellent condition, each “batling” is about 5 inches (chain is about 8 inches). This pair of “batling” was obtained from a noted Filipino collector-dealer of northern Luzon Cordillera tribal items; this is not a made-for-tourist item. | ||
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