Prow of a ritual canoe with ornament "munkuris" or "maan"

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Description

wood, small remains of polychrome pigments (red, white, black), elongated slender prow, decorated with accurate incised curved ornaments, canoe-prow ornament with curled volute-motifs, slightly dam., cracks, traces of weathering, on base;
prow ornaments should give magical and spiritual protection to the canoe. The populations of the Massim Area principally maritime people, are great sailors capable of the long and arduous canoe trips across the open seas demanded by the all-important “kula” inter-island trading system.

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Littérature comparée

Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 143

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