oceania | Papua New Guinea
Ancestor Figure
Papua New Guinea
North Coast, Aitape region
East Sepik Province
Carved wood
Early 20th century
Height: 20 ½ in. (52 cm)
Ex private German, acquired in the 1930s
Ex Sotheby’s New York, May 2001 lot 7
Ex collection Pierre Mondoloni, France
Figure Sepik Aitape 52 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
These anthropomorphic figures go by the name of kandimboa(n)g among the peoples living in the region of the mouths of the Sepik and Ramu rivers. According to Joseph Schmidt (“Die Ethnographie der Nor-Papua“, 1933), they incarnate the mythical founding heroes of the clan. Otto Reche states that they also served as memorial figures for ancestors who had marked the history of the clan (“Der Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss/ Sepik River“, 1913).
They were solicited during initiation rituals, and finally served as protective figures for the community.
Each statue bore the name of an ancestor, the name itself attached to a specific myth and song.
When not being used in ceremonies, the statues were kept in the Men’s House where they received offerings of food.
This male sculpture is remarkable for its intensity, radiating all the strength of the warrior. The delicacy and slenderness of the legs contrasts with the volumes of the upper body, exalting the power of the ancestor.
They were solicited during initiation rituals, and finally served as protective figures for the community.
Each statue bore the name of an ancestor, the name itself attached to a specific myth and song.
When not being used in ceremonies, the statues were kept in the Men’s House where they received offerings of food.
This male sculpture is remarkable for its intensity, radiating all the strength of the warrior. The delicacy and slenderness of the legs contrasts with the volumes of the upper body, exalting the power of the ancestor.
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