Figural flute stopper, around 1900
Papua New Guinea, Sawos
not available anymore
Provenance
Bruce Frank, New York, USASam & Sharon Singer, San Francisco, USA
Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes, California, USA
Size
H: 54 cm
H: 21.3 inch
Description
wood, pigment remains, shell material, base
According to Michael Hamson, this stone-carved flute stopper of the Sawos culture is pre-contact, stone-carved and has obviously had a rough existence in the field prior to collection.
Great bamboo flutes are amongst the most sacred and important objects of the clan. They are the voice of the spirits and must never be seen by women or uninitiated men.
Flute stoppers were used to contain the ancestral spirits residing in the ceremonial bamboo flutes.