Title
Painting from ceremonial house (spirit figure with wooden mask)
mid 20th century
collected 1965
Artists
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Details
- Other Titles
- Bark painting (Figure with wooden mask as head)
Spathe painting with wooden mask - Place where the work was made
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Wom Village
→
Keram River
→
Lower Sepik River
→
East Sepik Province
→
Papua New Guinea
- Cultural origin
- Ap Ma people
- Dates
- mid 20th century
collected 1965 - Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- sago palm petioles, wood, plant fibre, natural pigments
- Dimensions
- 135.0 x 70.5 x 7.5 cm overall; 25.0 x 10.0 x 6.0 cm mask
- Credit
- Purchased 1965
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 371.1994
- Copyright
- © Wiski Busengin Woknot Family
- Artist information
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Wiski Busengin Woknot
Works in the collection
- Artist information
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Ap Ma people
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
Throughout the 1960s, comparable panels were found in villages west of the Keram River such as Lol, Paniten and Wom, where this panel originates. The men's ceremonial house in Angoram was also embellished with several similar panels, stitched together to form a large 'canvas'. Father Lehner of the Catholic Mission of the Divine Word sent examples to the Steyler Mission Museum in Germany, while another is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
These all feature a carved and painted wooden head attached to the top of a support of sago palm petioles. Below the head, the body and limbs of a figure – possibly a culture hero or spirit – are painted in white clay and ochre pigments.
[entry from Exhibition Guide for 'Melanesian art: redux', 2018, cat no 20]
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Melanesian art: redux, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Nov 2018–17 Feb 2019
