Lot 124A
Huge Papua New Guinea Sepik Ancestor Figure, Shell Eyes
Huge Papua New Guinea Sepik Ancestor Figure, Shell Eyes
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Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik River region, Washkuk Hills, Kwoma people, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A towering sentinel of spirit and lineage, this ancestral figure from the Kwoma people of Papua New Guinea stands nearly seven and a half feet tall, an awe-inspiring embodiment of presence and protection. Hewn from a single log of hardwood and still cloaked in its sacred tricolor hues of red, white, and brown, the figure exudes both reverence and resilience - a watchful guardian bridging past and present. The surface is alive with incised motifs - rhythmic lines, concentric curves, and crosshatched fields - each mark part of an ancestral language rendered not in speech but in surface, pigment, and form. The face is carved in bold relief with a prominent nose and sweeping brow, the eyes set with gleaming shell inlay that lends them an otherworldly gleam, bright and unblinking. Size: 10" L x 13.6" W x 87.5" H (25.4 cm x 34.5 cm x 222.2 cm)
These shell eyes were believed to hold ancestral power, their luminosity a sign of the spirit's ongoing presence in the visible world. Among the Kwoma of the Washkuk Hills, such towering figures were traditionally carved as representations of clan ancestors, housed within ceremonial men's houses known as korambo. Each form served as a locus of spiritual energy, the body both a symbolic vessel and a mnemonic device - its patterns recalling kinship ties, mythic origins, and sacred obligations. Figures of this type were typically unveiled during initiations, feasts, or ritual performances, where they stood not only as sculptures but as embodied memory.
The imposing height, sharp articulation, and complex surface detail of this example suggest the hand of a master carver working within a longstanding lineage of Sepik artistic tradition. The figure retains much of its original pigment, the iron-rich reds and clay whites offset by darker tones to dramatize the contours. Its vertical posture and elongated proportions, paired with the staring shell eyes, reflect Kwoma sculptural style, which often favored abstraction and elongation as signs of the metaphysical. Whether intended as a personification of a specific ancestor or as a general guardian spirit (waken), the figure evokes the deeply spiritual cosmology of the Sepik peoples, where carved wood serves as a living conduit to the sacred.
Provenance: private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection, acquired between 1950 and 1985
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#195672
- Condition: Losses and repairs to some protruding spikes, as well as some chipping and stable fissures to wood. Abrasions and surface wear commensurate with age. Otherwise, impressive presentation with good remaining pigments and incised detail. Nice preservation of shell inlay eyes and rich patina throughout.
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