Naga Ancestral House Post, Based

Six small carved heads in two neat rows.

This ancestral house post is Naga, from Nagaland in Northeast India, 19th century, in carved wood, shown on a base. Naga house posts often recorded a family's standing and achievements, and carved heads were a familiar emblem of status. Below the projecting blocks, a V of grooves descends to three stacked crescent forms, each ending in a small point. Slit openings pierce the pale, deeply grooved plank. Reddish staining shows behind the top rows. It stands 109 inches high.

Record-keeping, in wood.