Naga Ancestral House Post

Nearly ten feet of carved wood, with a man at the top raising one hand.

This ancestral house post is Naga, from Nagaland in Northeast India, 19th century, in carved wood. Naga carvers decorated the house posts of prominent families with figures, mithun heads and skull motifs that announced a household's standing and its feasts of merit. A moustached figure stands at the top of this dark trunk, one arm lifted, with a long notched form at the waist. Below him are a ledge, two carved skulls and a carved horned head. A small opening is cut between the feet. It stands 117 inches high.

A house post that did its talking in advance.