Standing anthropomorphic figure, around 1920/30
Papua New Guinea, Trobriand Islands, Milne Bay, Massim
sold
EUR 1,000
Provenance
Craig de Lora, New Jersey, USAMichael Auliso, San Francisco, USA
German Private Collection, Munich
Size
H: 17 cm
H: 6.7 inch
Description
wood, honey brown patina, white pigment, large head with ornamentally arranged facial features, rising from short cylindrical trunk with thin limbs, richly decorated with notched decor, slightly dam., minor missing parts (headdress).
Figurative free-standing sculpture is rare in the Massim area. There is no evidence that such figures represented ancestors or cultural heroes, but rather appear to have served as vessels to be inhabited by protective spirits.