oceania | Papua New Guinea
Ancestor Figure
Papua New Guinea
North Coast, Aitape region
East Sepik Province
Early 20th century
Carved wood
Height: 20 ½ in. (52 cm)
Provenance
Ex private collection, Germany, acquired in the 1930s
Ex Sotheby’s New York, mai 2001, lot 7
Ex collection Pierre Mondoloni, France
Figure Sepik Aitape 52 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
There is very little information available on the rituals and ceremonies which took place in the northern region of the Sepik around Aitape on the North Coast of Papua New Guinea.
This figure may be the incarnation of a mythical founding hero of the clan as noted by Joseph Schmidt in Die Ethnographie der Nor-Papua published in 1933.
The slender, dancing legs contrast with the powerful volumes of the upper body. The ancestor face is surmounted by a stylized animal figure.
This male figure conveys a formidable sense of warrior strength, dynamism and intensity.
This figure may be the incarnation of a mythical founding hero of the clan as noted by Joseph Schmidt in Die Ethnographie der Nor-Papua published in 1933.
The slender, dancing legs contrast with the powerful volumes of the upper body. The ancestor face is surmounted by a stylized animal figure.
This male figure conveys a formidable sense of warrior strength, dynamism and intensity.
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