Pirogue bow ornament

Headhunting expeditions to neighboring islands played a vital role in the religious, economic and political life of the Solomons. Attached to the bow of large war canoes, the nguzunguzu , which was said to have sensory faculties far superior to those of humans, was supposed to observe, intercept, react and interact with any malevolent spirits encountered during the ^voyage1.

As Deborah ^Waite2 aptly describes, the second half of the ^19th century was a period marked by a particular growth in the number of headhunts in the Solomon Islands. According to her, this phenomenon led to the creation of a complex and omnipresent symbolism, and resulted in the prolific production of art objects linked to this activity.

The elongated face with its zoomorphic features, inspired by the morphology of Tiola (a canine-like spirit), suggests that this figurehead comes from the Central Solomons, more precisely from New Georgia.

Ludwig Bretschneider (1909-1987)
This Munich art dealer and collector of African and Oceanic art had a close relationship with Munich’s Museum of the Five Continents (formerly the Museum of Ethnology) between the 1950s and 1980s. He made several exchanges and donations from his collection to the museum

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1- Mélandri and Révolon. 2014. page 124
2- Waite D. 2000, pages 115-144)

Price: €19,500