Have one like this?
Upload a photo for a free check of what yours may be worth.
Lot description
Sarimanok signed and dated 1977 (lower right) brass H: 9" (23 cm) L: 11 1/2" (29 cm) W: 4" (10 cm) PROVENANCE Private collection, Manila Presenting another remarkable masterpiece, Abdulmari Imao attempts to reinterpret Sarimanok by fusing myth, identity, and modernist form, creating an abstract work that perfectly reflects the national artist’s goal of integrating Muslim Filipino visual culture and motifs into the center of the national and contemporary art scene. Signed in 1977, Imao presents a spectacular brass sculpture of the mythical maranao bird in its essence rather than its physical form. Presenting a circular form that resembles a cartoonish face wearing a mask or helmet, decorated with traditional curling motifs that echo okir, with the top being the “head and plume” of the legendary bird. Traditionally seen as a symbol of royalty, good fortune, and power, Imao represents the Sarimanok as something more than a colorful, legendary Moro bird—a crest worn to embody what Filipino culture represents: Powerful, Prosperous, and Majestic. (Mark John Castañeda)