Tapak sago tongs

Reference : 750

Dark patina wood, rattan. Height: 39cm Presumed date of manufacture: 20th century Wosera population.
Papua New Guinea Provenance: The Jolika collection of John and Marcia Friede, Rye. New York

A Janus-like representation of an ancestor’s face, this clamp is adorned with the “Wagnen” or insider’s crest on the head. This clamp was used to hold a sago palm leaf, folded into a trough shape to extract the flour from the heart of the palm. Sago flour was a staple food in many parts of Papua New Guinea. The top of the claw features a schematized face, engraved in slight relief, with the edge of the face serrated.
Beautiful patina.
Price: €750

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