Anthropomorphic stone pestle · Papua New Guinea - Middle Sepik, Yanitobak, Karawari · ID: 3052655
Starting price
EUR 10,000
Estimated price
EUR 20,000
Provenance
Lord Alister McAlpine (1942-2014), London, Great BritainAnthony JP Meyer, Paris, France
John & Marcia Friede, Rye, USA
Size
M: 14,3 x 9,4 cm
M: 14,3 x 3.7 inch
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.
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