Standing male figure · Papua New Guinea - Sepik · ID: 3041175
Helga & Hans-Jürgen Müller, Stuttgart, Germany
Description
wood, brown patina, small remains of red and white pigment, black paint, large face with remains of curvilinear painting, eyes with cowrie shell inlay, strands of human hair and nassa snails pressed in clay-like mass applied on top of the head, incised geometrical scarification marks on the body, knees and elbows especially accentuated, old inscription on the backside: “Neu Guinea…epik…(unreadable)”, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, cracks (above all on the backside), mass broken out in one place;
figures represent certain founding ancestors or cultural heroes, but various spirit beings as well. The transition above all regarding ancestor figures is fluent, for real ancestors are kept in reminiscence just for a few generations and become “anonymous” lateron.