Male figure · Solomon Islands · ID: 3052138
Family-owned since then
Description
wood, paint,
Crispin Howarth published stylistically similar figures, whose origins he traces back to figures of the “kaisa” type, which were used in wedding ceremonies or “watawut” initiation ceremonies, depending on their place of origin (cf. Howarth, 2011, p. 56f.).
The present figure displays the typical voluminous hairstyle known as “tchirke”. The back and sides of the head are flattened and the nose is extremely long and narrow, which corresponds to the prevailing ideal of beauty. According to reports from 1935, the heads and noses of babies were manipulated accordingly.
The object Male figure with the object ID 3052138 was last part of the auction Auction 105 at November 15, 2025 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 144 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.
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Comparing literature
Howarth, Crispin, Varilaku, Pacific Arts from the Solomon Islands, Canberra 2011, p. 54 ff.