Description:

Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Sepik River Region, Abelam people, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved abstract wood anthropomorphic head with brightly painted features. The face is long, with a thin nose and small low relief eyes. The stylized visage is rounded with a slightly concave verso and a short neck area with a pierced holes for suspension. While mask like, this head does not have holes to see through and was created for festivals surrounding the cherished yam, the crucial crop of the Abelam people of northeast Papua New Guinea. Faces like this example have traditionally been used to adorn the heads of huge tubers, rather than humans! Size: 10" L x 5.5" W (25.4 cm x 14 cm)

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173648

  • Condition: Fading and chipping to pigments. Surface nicks and chips and old inactive insect bore holes, otherwise intact. Good condition!

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October 13, 2022 9:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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