Lot 257
Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik River, latmul people, ca. early 20th century CE. Meticulously carved from a single piece of wood, a large canoe prow depicting a crocodile with scaly skin delineated via cross-hatched and wavy patterns as well as raised, high relief detailing; bulging eyes inlaid with white round stones, and a partially opened mouth full of sharp teeth. Adding to its charm is a petite 'baby' crocodile upon its nose, and perhaps a section of another with two eyes delineated behind those of the large crocodile. The surface is further embellished with red and white pigments. Given its scale, this work probably adorned a large canoe designed for warfare; such war canoes could hold approximately 15 to 25 men, were hollowed from a huge, single log, and were also employed during fishing and trading expeditions. Latmul canoes have been and continue to be carved in the form of a crocodile, because according to the latmul, the ancestral crocodile is responsible for the earth's creation (see more about their creation myth below). Size: 32.75" L x 13" W (83.2 cm x 33 cm)
The crocodile is an animal that played and continues to play a major role in the visual culture of the latmul people, because it has traditionally been associated with the story of creation. According to a contextual description for a similar example in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, " In the beginning, the earth was covered by a primordial ocean, into whose depths the crocodile dived. Reaching the bottom, it brought up on its back a load of mud, which became an island when it surfaced. From that island, the land grew and hardened, but it continues to rest on the back of the ancestral crocodile, which occasionally moves, causing earthquakes."
A similar example resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - accession number 1978.412.705
Provenance: private Colorado collection acquired in Bangkok, Thailand
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#124376
- Condition: Perforation at top center. Stable age cracks. Expected surface wear with pigment loss and abraded areas/losses to wood particularly at the protruding areas and peripheries commensurate with age.
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