Zemanek-Münster

Ceremonial staff "temes nevinbür"

Vanuatu
sold EUR 1,000
Provenance
Steffmann, Günne, Germany
Size
H: 59 cm
H: 23.2 inch

Description

anthropomorphic head made of vegetable mass, painted in black and red, crowned by a conical headdress, cowwebbed, worked on a wooden stick, provided with boar tusks, good condition, on pedestal;
ceremonial staffs are images of the souls of deceased persons. At initiation- and memorial ceremonies they appear as movable dolls above a screen of leaf material.


Comparing literature

Kaufmann, Christian, Vanuatu - Kunst aus der Südsee, Basel 1997, ill. 166 - 173

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