Ancestor figure "kawe" ·  Westneuguinea / Westpapua (Irian Jaya), Asmat · ID: 3035272

Description

light wood, remains of black, red and white pigment, squatting male figure which shows the bearing of a praying mantis (“wenet-motif”), rising from a conical base with incised curvilinear ornaments (cut), incised scarifications on the back and on the arms, collection number “ET 67-0” (?), slightly dam., minor missing parts (head), paint rubbed off, on plate;
the so-called “wenet” motif can be looked upon as the symbol for head hunting par excellence, because the female of that kind of insects bites off the males head after copulation took place. It is used for decorating various objects throughout the whole Asmat region. Present object originally could have been the tip of a canoe prow with an ancestor figure “kawe” as protective spirit.

L’objet Ancestor figure “kawe” avec l’ID d’objet 3035272 a fait partie de l’enchère 74th tribal art auction en 7 septembre 2013 pour la dernière fois le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes et avait le numéro de lot 19.

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Littérature comparée

Helfrich, Klaus u.a., Asmat, Berlin 1996, p. 186