Anthropomorphic suspension hook ·  Papua New Guinea - Sepik · ID: 3037822

Description

wood, dyed with black pigment, unusual: eyes with shell inlay (operculum of a topshell) and the stuck out tongue, eyelet on top with remains of cord material, slightly dam., minor missing parts, abrasion of paint, base;
food and other valuables were kept in bags and baskets which were suspended from the rafters of the building by means of two- or three-pronged hooks. While utilitarian hooks were only rarely carved, those used in the Men’s House were elaborately sculpted as representations of important ancestors and mythological beings.