Pair of "timbuwara" figures · Papua New Guinea - Southern Highlands · ID: 3042453
not available anymore
Provenance
Chris Boylan, Sydney, AustraliaSize
H: 58,5 cm & 61,5 cm
H: 23.0 inch & 24.2 inch
Description
rattan, plant fibre, yellow ochre, white pigment, flat bodies with rod-shaped limbs and disc-shaped heads with central drilling, slightly dam., pigment partly crumbled away;
“timbuwara” (“spear of the door”) are said to have been attached to the doorway of the Men’s House. Secondly, they are said to represent a man’s deceased wife, and were kept in the Men’s House where relatives could pay their respects. Thirdly they are said to have been worn on the head for certain fertility ceremonies.
Comparing literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 304, ill. 334