This is a wonderfully carved bird figure depicting a clan totem, the cockatoo. It has an extraordinary double visage, only visible as one moves around the figure, with one head facing forwards and one backwards. It is an enigmatic object; the only viable explanation to me is that it was once part of a Haus Tambaran lintel. The bird figure has acquired a good patina over time.
It seems to have been a revered heirloom.

Ex-collection Tom Arthur, Sydney, Australia. He acquired it from Galleries Primitif, Sydney, in the 1970s.