oceania | Papua New Guinea
Figural hook
Papua New Guinea
Sepik River
Carved wood, fiber
Early 20th century
Height: 28 in. (71 cm)
Ex collection Maurice Bonnefoy / d’Arcy Galleries, New York, 1960s-1970s
Exhibited: Neuchâtel Museum of Ethnography,
Switzerland, June 27- December 31, 1970
Ex Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, Dec. 18 1990, lot 11
Ex Christie’s Paris, December 2003, lot 54
Ex private collection Paris, acquired at the above sale
Sepik Ceremonial Hook Neuchâtel / Galerie Flak
On request
This highly expressive Sepik figure has great purity of forms. The deep, fine-aged patina, surface and signs of wear attests to the age and use of this figure.
As stated by Eric Kjellgren from the Metropolitan Museum of art in New York, « suspension hooks have both utilitarian and ceremonial functions. Suspended from the rafters by a cord, they are used to safeguard food, clothing, and other items, which are placed in baskets or string bags and hung from the hook-shaped prongs at the base to keep them out of reach of vermin. Most hooks are adorned with representations of ancestral spirits and totemic animals associated with the owner’s clan. In the past, some suspension hooks, especially those representing waken, the most powerful Iatmul supernatural beings, served as sacred images through which the supernatural beings they depicted could be consulted. Before embarking on a raid or hunting expedition, men gathered within the ceremonial house to consult the waken through the hook bearing its image. Offerings of chickens, betel nut, or other items were hung from the hook and then consumed by a human “attendant,” who went into a trance during which the waken spoke through him, providing advice. Primarily functional, household suspension hooks were also used to contact spirits about more minor matters. »
As stated by Eric Kjellgren from the Metropolitan Museum of art in New York, « suspension hooks have both utilitarian and ceremonial functions. Suspended from the rafters by a cord, they are used to safeguard food, clothing, and other items, which are placed in baskets or string bags and hung from the hook-shaped prongs at the base to keep them out of reach of vermin. Most hooks are adorned with representations of ancestral spirits and totemic animals associated with the owner’s clan. In the past, some suspension hooks, especially those representing waken, the most powerful Iatmul supernatural beings, served as sacred images through which the supernatural beings they depicted could be consulted. Before embarking on a raid or hunting expedition, men gathered within the ceremonial house to consult the waken through the hook bearing its image. Offerings of chickens, betel nut, or other items were hung from the hook and then consumed by a human “attendant,” who went into a trance during which the waken spoke through him, providing advice. Primarily functional, household suspension hooks were also used to contact spirits about more minor matters. »
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