A rare stone ancestor effigy, Papua New Guinea
525
Property of various owners
A rare stone ancestor effigy
Papua New Guinea, Western Highlands, the flat top above large oval face with almond eyes, nose with flared nostrils, ears with pendant ear ornaments, above a compressed muscular torso, and tapering thighs, the arms carved to the sides, glossy worn patina.
height 8 ½in
Estimate:
US$ 15,000 - 18,000
£9,800 - 12,000
€12,000 - 14,000

Footnotes

  • Provenance:
    Laurie Bragg, Australia
    Found in Amanab, Papua New Guinea

    Exhibited:
    Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana 2005
    University Art Gallery, Governors State University, Richton Park, Illinois 2006
    Loyola University Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois 2006

    Stone effigies are known from areas in and around Humboldt Bay, however such images are larger and present a different surface patination. This example, like another found in 1964, also in Amanab and illustrated in a publication from the National Museum of New Guinea, are small and made from a type of sandstone that quickly takes a high polish from handling.

Category: Ethnographic Art / Tribal

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