Female ancestor figure "bioma"

Description

wood, remains of black and white pigment, worked flat with free carved arms and legs, chest and joints accentuated, ornamental face, old collection number in white paint handwritten on the backside: “TA 2007/10-1”, slightly dam. (facial features), rep. (left leg), metal base;
throughout the Papuan Gulf region wood sculptures “bioma” and “gope” boards were made to attract spirits and provide a place for them to reside. Arrangements of figures and boards alongside ancestral skulls were placed inside the men’s house in special clan and family-owned cubicles.