The most common apotropaic motif found in Indonesian art and architecture is the demonic mask known as a kala head (kala [time, death, or black] shiras). They resemble and may be derived from the Indian "Face of Glory" (kirttimukha), and may also relate to the Chinese gluttonous creature (taotie) and the Tibetan zipac or zeeba. Kala heads are typically represented to ward off danger, but they can also be used as a decorative motif. They are portrayed in a variety of media, see M.78.10.1 and M.91.232.1 (copper alloy) and M.86.346.2 and M.91.300.1 (earthenware). Central Javanese representations usually lack a lower jaw, but Eastern Javanese depictions typically feature both jaws.
This kala head has the standard bulging eyes, horns, fangs, fierce expression, and a lower jaw. It also has two upraised hands held in an unidentified gesture (mudra) with the forefinger and middle fingers joined and pointed upwards.
Comparable Eastern Javanese stone kala heads are in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (1990.82) and Cleveland Museum of Art (1975.104).