Standing male ancestor figure "kawe" ·  Westneuguinea / Westpapua (Irian Jaya), Asmat · ID: 3033521

Description

iron wood, brown patina, traces of black paint, fragmentary body with elongated forms, both arms and the right leg missing, expressive facial features with tapering nose, on metal plate;
such figures are carved for the building of a new Men’s House and are left to decay after the inauguration ceremonies. They represent the first humans, or “asmat”.

Comparing literature

Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 82, ill. 62