-
Details
- Other Title
- Figure
- Place where the work was made
-
Okapa District
→
Eastern Highlands Province
→
Papua New Guinea
- Cultural origin
- Fore people
- Dates
- mid 20th century
collected 1964 - Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- carved tree fern, cassowary feathers (Casuarius), teeth, plant fibres, white pigment
- Dimensions
- 97.0 x 21.0 x 22.0 cm (incl. headdress)
- Credit
- Purchased 1977
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 305.1977
- Copyright
- Artist information
-
Fore people
Works in the collection
- Share
-
-
About
The Fore men carve human heads into fern trees ('amo ato') to make scarecrows. They are placed in the gardens especially during the season during which new crops are planted. Some of these fern heads are also placed outside houses to trick sorcerers ('tukavu'). When they see these figures, they believe that there is someone at home and they go away.
Alphonse Kona, University of Papua New Guinea, 2014
-
Places
Where the work was made
Okapa District
-
Exhibition history
Shown in 3 exhibitions
Melanesian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Apr 1966–22 May 1966
Aboriginal and Melanesian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Oct 1974 -
Melanesian art: redux, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Nov 2018–17 Feb 2019
-
Bibliography
Referenced in 2 publications
-
Tony Tuckson, Aboriginal and Melanesian art, Sydney, 1973. cat.no. H65
-
Tony Tuckson, Melanesian art, Sydney, 1966. cat.no. 244; 'Figure. Half length. Tree fern, cassowary feather head-dress, teeth, white paint, bound at bottom, 37h. Okapa, Eastern Highlands. Coll: S.G. Moriarty. M1151'
-
