One is a Janus-faced stone sculpture discovered in 1929 by Japanese anthropologist Nenozo Utsurikawa near Chunrih Township’s Aluvuan, or Wangjia, Village. With each side depicting a distinct gender, the creation is believed to represent the male and female ancestors of Djialuvuan, the family of the local chief.
“Stone sculptures are a rarity among Taiwan aboriginal arts, and the two-faced totem pole is even more unusual,” a BOCH official said. “The Aluvuan ancestral piece is the only known example of its kind at present.”
Equally significant is the four-sided wooden sculpture found in neighboring Taiwu Township’s Kaviyangan, or Jiaping, Village. The wooden pole used to serve as a support column at the house of local chief Zingrur, and its sculpture comprises a quadruple representation of the family’s female ancestor Muakaikai.
“Standing 1.7 meters, the house post depicts on all sides female figures with six-fingered hands raised at chest level. Ring patterns on the wrists are symbolic of local nobility, making the ancestral pole an integral part of Kaviyangan culture and society,” the official said.
Both artifacts, acquired by National Taiwan University during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), were submitted for national treasure listing earlier this year.
Separately, early Taiwan gouache master Lin Yu-shan’s “Lotus Pond” was also made a national treasure, the first 20th-century modern painting to be granted such an honor.
Currently a prized exhibit at Taichung City’s National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the painting captures the resplendent beauty of a lotus pond at sunrise. Created by the then 23-year-old painter in 1930, it has long been admired for exquisite artistry and ethereal atmosphere. (YHC-JSM)
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