Figure de l´esprit d´un ancêtre masculin "blaal" ·  Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée - Sepik · ID: 3041486

Description

wood, matt brown patina, pierced septum, short free carved arms, legs without feet rising from a small vaulted base, slightly dam., insect caused missing parts backside, base;
according to O. Reche the ancestor figures originally were advancements or supplements of the real ancestor skulls. The idea was, that not only a natural head but a whole body should be offered as abode to the soul of the deceased. According to Reche it can be assumed, that the original form of an ancestor figure consisted of a natural human skull and a wooden trunk. But this was only a transitional stage and finally was detached by such wooden whole-figure-statuettes.