Oceanic, Papua-New guinea, Middle Sepik Area. Abelam. Female Figure. Wood, pigment. Height: 72 ½ inches Width: 11 inches D...

Description

Oceanic, Papua-New guinea, Middle Sepik Area
Abelam
Female Figure
Wood, pigment
Height: 72 ½ inches Width: 11 inches Depth: 9 inches

Abelam men's ceremonies revolve above all around initiations progressively though a series of membership grades. These theatrical events are lavish in their use of wood sculpture, along with objects of various other types and media. All are freshly and brilliantly repainted for the ceremony, since the paint itself bears inherent forces and energies. Plants, flowers, feathers, and fruits add to the panoply, which occurs in the towering men's ceremonial house, itself a riot of color and form
.Among the relatively fewer large sculptures used in these contexts, female figures frequently represent a witchlike being called ku tagwa. The present figure's head is surmounted by a large bird, most likely a hornbill, which may tie this particular image to a different, clan-related meaning.
The feet have been lost to insect or moisture damage, there are numerous age cracks, and the initially fugitive paint has faded or flaked off, all common for much Abelam sculpture with any age.

Provenance:
Boylan Collection, Australia (1970s)
Greg La Chapelle, Santa Fe
Gary Hendershott, Little Rock



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