One of the greatest Nias statues (siraha salawa) extant, representing an important chiefly ancestor. This statue has a well-documented history in Europe, as it once belonged to the cosmetics magnate Helena Rubinstein. She was dubbed "the empress of beauty" by Jean Cocteau, as much for her outstanding collection of art as for her business acumen. This statue was the subject of a famous 1926 photograph taken by the famed Dadaist and conceptual artist Man Ray. "The Moon Rises over the Island of Nias" appeared on the cover of an inaugural exhibition at the Galerie Surréaliste entitled Tableaux de Man Ray et objects des îles. On that occasion, Man Ray's photographs were displayed alongside more than sixty sculptures from Indonesia and the Pacific Islands that had been loaned from the legendary collection of André Breton.

La lune se lève sur l'île de Nias
gelatin silver print
1926
Man Ray
(1890-1976)

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