Figure « malagan » aux bras tendus
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 7 September 2013, Lot 31
Private Collection, Rheinland, Germany
Description
wood, tripartite (arms worked separately), lime, red, yellow and black pigment, shell inlay, base
This figure is probably a ‘malagan’ of the ’turu’ type, as they were publicly exhibited at the beginning of the commemorative cycle of a ‘malagan’ ceremony.
Three types of ‘malagan’ sculptures were used: ’turu’ was placed on the floor in front of the wall of a display hut, often standing in a wooden shell. A panel of the ‘malagan rarau’ type was placed above it, painted with two fish arranged in opposite directions. A large seated figure made of grass fibre with a ‘ges’ mask was placed next to the hut (cf. field photo Gunn, 1997, p. 134, Fig. 125).
The carvings were displayed in secondary funeral rites for one or more deceased members of the community. The purpose of these rites was to make peace with the deceased and to make it possible for them to be subsumed into the spirit world.