Small standing ancestor figure · Papua New Guinea - Lower Sepik · ID: 3033653
sold
EUR 1,500
Provenance
collected in situ by the German Radio Officer Lehr, on duty for the North German Lloyd (on a ship called “Friderum”), 1921-1928Size
H: 18 cm
H: 7.1 inch
Description
wood, redish brown patina, stylized form, face with beak-like prolongation of the nose reaching down to the navel, min. dam., minor missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base;
figures with such a long beak-like nose are characteristic for the area of the Lower Sepik, pointing to the close connection between man and bird, referring to the religious belief of the bird as bearer of the human soul into the other world (spirit bird).