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Thomas Murray believes that these developments will propel Parcours into the most important event in this specialized area. He will be bringing highlights from San Francisco to show in a gallery on rue des Beaux Arts alongside some of the greatest names in the field. One of his star pieces is a wood ancestral door carved by the Toraja of South Sulawesi. The archaic style of the human head originates from as early as the 1st millennium, and according to its carbon-14 test, the door dates between the 16th and 18th centuries. To mark the occasion, Murray is publishing an illustrated catalogue, Animistic Art of Island Asia. Regular participant Davide Manfredi will exhibit a Bahau ulin wood figure from the Kenyan, Mahakan river region of eastern Borneo, which he says is the only one of this type known and may date back between 700 and 1,000 years, although more precise dating would require carbon-14 testing. Unusually, the figure has a tail and horns, and the surface is smoothly worn, as would be the case for an item found in a burial cave. Davide and his wife Alexandra Pascassio will open a new gallery in spring next year in Via Visconti in Rome. Specializing in Southeast Asian tribal art, they will also hold thematic exhibitions on Javanese-Balinese popular traditions and archaic forms of Indochinese art. Joaquin Pecci will be showing tribal sculptures from various regions and cultures. Pecci has spent much time travelling in Asia over the years, and has a particular interest in Himalayan shamanic cultures. Among his offerings are some special pieces from the region, chosen for their beauty and importance. Participating for the first time, Brussels-based Paoli Dalatri of Wei Asian Arts will be bringing a small but meaningful collection of wood Jarai sculptures from the Vietnamese highlands, as well some classical Chinese pieces with ritual content, for example a Han period bronze image of a shaman that once belonged to renowned collector/dealer Robert H. Ellsworth. One of the pieces being shown by Jacques Barr?re is a 10th century head of Shiva. A fine example of Khmer art, the statue is carved in grey sandstone. Barr?re specializes in Chinese and Japanese art, including sculpture, archaeology, pottery and decorative arts, and holds regular exhibitions of Gandharan, Indian and Southeast Asian statuary.