OCEANIC NEW GUINEA RAMU RIVER ANCESTRAL FIGURE 20th century AD A wooden figure of a male with a bird head with a short cap to the top; large beak in the form of an inverted triangle carved with a series of horizontal lines; beak open and curving to the end; arms to the side of the body and prominent phallus; legs with prominent calf muscles and feet pointing downwards. 562 grams, 42cm (16 1/2"). Condition Fine condition. Provenance Property of a European collector; formerly from the collection of Prof. RNDr. Jan Jelínek, DrSc., anthropologist, and Director of the Moravian museum, and the president of the International Committee of Museums (ICOM) for eight years; thence by descent 2004; from the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea; acquired by Professor Jelínek during the Australasian expedition in 1969. Accompanied by copies of expedition photographs, map and Dr Jelinek's biography. Footnotes This wood statue is from the Middle Ramu River region, to the east of the Sepik River. Birds are regarded as the ancestral spirit of the village, having given birth to the first humans.This figure is an image of an ancestral creature depicted as half human, half bird. The elongated nose is the sign of fertility.
OCEANIC NEW GUINEA RAMU RIVER ANCESTRAL FIGURE 20th century AD A wooden figure of a male with a bird head with a short cap to the top; large beak in the form of an inverted triangle carved with a series of horizontal lines; beak open and curving to the end; arms to the side of the body and prominent phallus; legs with prominent calf muscles and feet pointing downwards. 562 grams, 42cm (16 1/2"). Condition Fine condition. Provenance Property of a European collector; formerly from the collection of Prof. RNDr. Jan Jelínek, DrSc., anthropologist, and Director of the Moravian museum, and the president of the International Committee of Museums (ICOM) for eight years; thence by descent 2004; from the Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea; acquired by Professor Jelínek during the Australasian expedition in 1969. Accompanied by copies of expedition photographs, map and Dr Jelinek's biography. Footnotes This wood statue is from the Middle Ramu River region, to the east of the Sepik River. Birds are regarded as the ancestral spirit of the village, having given birth to the first humans.This figure is an image of an ancestral creature depicted as half human, half bird. The elongated nose is the sign of fertility.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
