Horizontal ornament ·  Papua New Guinea, Abelam · ID: 3034443

Description

light-coloured wood, blackish brown patina, polychrome painted, front- and backside carved, two hornbill heads arranged back to back, a further bird head below (cockatoo ?), the remaining surface decorated with incised ornaments, accentuated by especially bright colours (indigo blue, red), old collection number “A66.25”, slightly dam., small missing parts, paint rubbed off;
hornbill heads are clan emblems and head-hunting and ancestral symbols. Possibly used as lintel for a door frame.

The object Horizontal ornament with the object ID 3034443 was last part of the auction 72nd tribal art auction at March 9, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 18.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about Oceanian art.