Bronze Weaver – A Great Work of Animism Art - Sculpture

Bronze Weaver is a sixth century bronze statue. The National Gallery of Australia purchased it for a whopping sum of $4 million dollars, from a private European collection. It is classical example of a great work of animism art and sculpture.

City News Canberra reports:

“The Bronze Weaver” hails from a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores, which recently drew world attention as a crucible for human development with the discovery of the ancient remains of “homo floresiensis”, dubbed “the hobbits”. 

The 25.8cm-high sculpture presents a striking image of woman seated at her loom while suckling her baby. The child touchingly clutches the mother’s breast while another small hand hugs her back. 

She was created by the lost wax method: Molding the exact shape of the sculpture in wax over a clay form, then encasing the whole in another clay sheath. The object is then fired with molten bronze poured into the space left as the melting wax drains away. When cool, the outer shell is cracked open to reveal the bronze sculpture. The Weaver’s core of clay still remains.

Truly it is a great piece of art. But the report says:

She represents an ancient, ancestral religion called animism that pre-dates the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian religions of Southeast Asia.

The reporter got carried away it seems. The statue is of sixth century AD. Hinduism and Buddhism had its origin before Christ.