Cassandra D'Cruz
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Lot 6
Abelam Spirit Figure, Middle Sepik River Province, Papua New Guinea
13 November 2018, 11:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$6,000 inc. premium
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Abelam Spirit Figure, Middle Sepik River Province, Papua New Guinea
nggwalndu
height 67 1/2in (171.5cm)
Provenance
Bruce Seaman, Honolulu
Wayne Heathcote, New York
Britton Nominees Pty Limited Collection, Sydney, acquired in 1980
Henry Davis York Collection, Sydney
"The Abelam people of the Prince Alexander Mountains north of the Sepik River practice perhaps the longest and most spectacular initiation cycle of any New Guinea people. Beginning in childhood, each Abelam male must pass through eight separate initiation rites over the course of twenty to thirty years, before he is a fully initiated man. Each successive ritual requires both a physical ordeal and the viewing of increasingly elaborate displays of sacred objects in specially constructed chambers within the men's ceremonial house. This process continues until the final rites, in which the initiate is shown the largest and most sacred of all displays—the brilliantly painted figures and other images portraying the powerful clan spirits called nggwalndu. The largest nggwalndu images are used during this final ritual. Although nggwalndu figures are impressive works of sculpture, to the Abelam, their efficacy lies in the bright polychrome paints applied to their surfaces. For the Abelam, paint is a magical substance that endows the figures with supernatural power and beauty. In creating their displays, artists strive to achieve a visual magnificence that will overwhelm the viewer." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, WEB, nd.)
Of hard wood, most likely carved from stone with openwork design throughout, this figure has an overall mysterious presence with two stacked figures, the upper figure with an elliptical face and lozenge-form torso; the lower figure smaller in scale and in similar posture with and overall concave front, the back convex and showing evidence of significant age; painted on the front with red, mustard, white, yellow and black pigments with encrustations.
height 67 1/2in (171.5cm)
Provenance
Bruce Seaman, Honolulu
Wayne Heathcote, New York
Britton Nominees Pty Limited Collection, Sydney, acquired in 1980
Henry Davis York Collection, Sydney
"The Abelam people of the Prince Alexander Mountains north of the Sepik River practice perhaps the longest and most spectacular initiation cycle of any New Guinea people. Beginning in childhood, each Abelam male must pass through eight separate initiation rites over the course of twenty to thirty years, before he is a fully initiated man. Each successive ritual requires both a physical ordeal and the viewing of increasingly elaborate displays of sacred objects in specially constructed chambers within the men's ceremonial house. This process continues until the final rites, in which the initiate is shown the largest and most sacred of all displays—the brilliantly painted figures and other images portraying the powerful clan spirits called nggwalndu. The largest nggwalndu images are used during this final ritual. Although nggwalndu figures are impressive works of sculpture, to the Abelam, their efficacy lies in the bright polychrome paints applied to their surfaces. For the Abelam, paint is a magical substance that endows the figures with supernatural power and beauty. In creating their displays, artists strive to achieve a visual magnificence that will overwhelm the viewer." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, WEB, nd.)
Of hard wood, most likely carved from stone with openwork design throughout, this figure has an overall mysterious presence with two stacked figures, the upper figure with an elliptical face and lozenge-form torso; the lower figure smaller in scale and in similar posture with and overall concave front, the back convex and showing evidence of significant age; painted on the front with red, mustard, white, yellow and black pigments with encrustations.
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