Small sculpture "yipwon"

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Description

wood, dark brown patina, body rendered as a series of hook shapes, carved to be seen in profile, slightly dam., eyes originally with inlay, base;
amongst the Yimam and Alamblak people of the Korewori and Blackwater Rivers, “yipwon” are the major war and hunting deities. The smallest ones belong to individuals and are used as personal charms. Intermediate-size figures, like the present, were sometimes taken on raids in the hope that the spirit of the “yipwon” would go ahead of the group and attack the enemy with its magical powers.

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Comparing literature

Peltier, Philippe et.al., Tanz der Ahnen, Zürich 2015, p. 285, ill. 169

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