Title
Rice storage chest
Year/Period
Late 19th - early 20th century
Region
Toba Batak, North Sumatra
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 63.0 x 77.0 x 73.0 cm
Accession No.
2013-00951
Collection of
Credit Line
Gift of the Mandala Foundation
Rumbi are large storage chests shaped much like imported stoneware jars, which suggests a possible origin for the form. They have an ingenious locking mechanism as a pole can be inserted between the body of the jar and the lid to hold it shut. A longer pole can be inserted so that the rumbi could be carried. Rumbi were often decorated with a small singa figure to protect the contents from pests both real and spiritual.
