atkom war shield

Reference : 2182

atkom war shield

Carved wood, ochre and black pigments (charcoal), lime
Double rattan strap handle
Dimensions: Height: 1.54 m / Width: 0.56m
Estimated date of origin: C1930/ 1950
Population Telefolmin
Sandaun Province (West Sepik)
Mountain Ok. Central Highlands
Papua New Guinea Provenance:
– Collected by an Australian pilot in the 1960s
– Collection Bill Evans, Paddington.
– Collection Chris Boylan, Sydney.
– Collection Daniel Vigne, Paris, Uzes

Exhibition:
Shields of Papua New Guinea. Cavin-Morris Gallery, New York 2012. Reproduced N°11 in the catalog
A catalog of this exhibition will be given to the purchaser.

More details

Recognizable by their geometric “X”-shaped motifs, Ok Mountain shields have the same decoration as the engraved and painted doors of ceremonial houses in this region.
According to Barry Craig (The Shields of Melanesia. 2005. Page 125), “the X motif represents a stylized human figure, probably embodying an ancestor.
The diamond point in the center is called matup bubil and represents his heart.
The zigzag pattern represents a snake called durulian, symbolized by the telefolmin as mankind’s lost opportunity for immortality.” These war shields could be used in magical rituals held before each battle.
They were kept in the house of men, alongside the skulls of ancestors.
Sometimes a small bag containing human bones was attached to the shield.

This same bag was carried by the warrior in battle.

Price: €19,000

sold without base

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