Crochet de suspension avec figure féminine ·  Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Iatmul · ID: 3046190

Description

pigments, base

Figural hooks were integral part of men’s houses. The sculptures were hung from the rafters or eves, with valuable foods and personal items hung on their hooks, keeping them away from the numerous vermin.

A second function was the protection the hooks gave as intermediaries to the inhabitant ancestral spirits.