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”.

The object Standing male ancestor figure “kawe” with the object ID 3033521 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 41 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,000.

You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on Oceanian art.

Comparing literature

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