Anthropomorphic stone pestle · Papua New Guinea - Middle Sepik, Yanitobak, Karawari · ID: 3052655
Anthony JP Meyer, Paris, France
John & Marcia Friede, Rye, USA
Description
handwritten collection no. (illegible; probably Alister McAlpine).
The knob of the pestle is embraced by a stylized figure, which Anthony Meyers identifies as human in “Oceanic Art” (p. 15, fig. 4). However, a comparable form on an artifact from the Jolika Collection at Friede (see Highlands, p. 42, fig. 1.40) suggests that a zoomorphic interpretation is also possible.
The object Anthropomorphic stone pestle with the object ID 3052655 was last part of the auction Auction 105 at November 15, 2025 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 139 achieved a sales price of EUR 9,000.
Comparing literature
Friede, John et. al. (ed.), New Guinea Highlands, New York 2017, p. 42, ill. 1.40.
Publications
Meyer, Anthony, Oceanic Art, 1955, p. 15, ill. 4; Pawley, Andrew et. al. (eds.), Papuan Pasts, Cultural Linguistic and Biological Histories of Papuan Speaking Peoples, p. 294, ill. 1