An impressive Babirusa skull in polished bronze. The skull has been polished which gives it its golden glow. The tusks are welded on by hand.

The babirusa, which translates to “deer-pig” in Indonesian is part of the Swine family that is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. This remarkable species is known for its prehistoric appearance due to its prominent tusks. Sometimes they grow so far inwards that they pierce the skin!

All species of babirusa are currently listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List and thus killing them is illegal in most cases. Unfortunately, poaching for their bushmeat as well as the skull remains the biggest threat to the babirusa. And it doesn’t help that the commercial logging of their habitat reduces cover, making the babirusa more exposed to poachers. Low conservation awareness, widespread poverty (creating an incentive to kill for money) and poor law enforcement add insult to injury.

The babirusa seeks shelter in the Nantu Forest Reserve, one of Sulawesi’s few remaining rainforests. The reserve is surrounded by more than a thousand small farmers, and with local income levels being as low as $70 a month, these villagers as well as outsiders turn to destructive forest practises such as rafting illegal timber, illegal gold-mining, slash-and-burn forest clearance, and wildlife poaching for income. It’s safe to say that poverty is directly contributing to climate change. Helping communities like these lift out of poverty and create alternative, environmentally sustainable practices such as cacao-farming and promoting ecotourism could promise future horizons.

Dimensions
Height: 20 cm / 8 inches
Width: 17 cm / 7 inches
Length: 29 cm / 11.5 inches
Weight: 2700 gr / 6 pounds

Dutch Design
Designer: Jake Richmond / Dutch Design
Concept: Eva van Stekelenburg
Origin: Indonesia
Date/Period: 2020
Materials: Polished Recycled Bronze, V-Legal MDF
The skull is displayed on a custom-fit black base, made from wood and steel. It cannot be detached from the base.

Sustainability
All of our bronze sculptures, including this Babrisa skull in polished bronze, are made from upcycled metals such as old pipelines. Our craftsmen and women collect this scrap waste which they then put them in an oven at very high temperatures. Once the scrap waste pieces melt, the new raw material is ready to be used. We then use this virgin material to make our bronze sculptures. As bronze is a very eco and labour intensive material to mine, we feel it makes much more sense to reuse the material that has already been created than to extract it – again. By doing so we are trying to close at least one waste loop.