Female ancestor figure "kawe" · Westneuguinea / Westpapua (Irian Jaya), Asmat · ID: 3033830
Lore Kegel, Hamburg, Germany
P. Kummert, Frankfurt, Germany
Description
wood, brown patina, extremely elongated slender limbs, “hanging” feet, incised ornamental decor, the ribcage indicated, dam. (nose, mouth), missing parts (toes), strong abrasion, on base;
in the Asmats creation myth the big hero “fumeripit” carved a number of human figures. When beating his drum they came alive, forming the first clans. The rigid motionlessness of the “kawe” figures should remind of the initial inanimateness of the first human beings.
The object Female ancestor figure “kawe” with the object ID 3033830 was last part of the auction 71st tribal art auction at November 24, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 51 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500.
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Comparing literature
Helfrich, Klaus u.a., Asmat, Berlin 1996, p. 184, ill. 12.14