Pestle

It’s no coincidence that this beautiful pestle had a particular appeal among major collectors: Margaret & Charles Webster Plass, Count Baudoin de Grunne and finally Marcia and John Friede.
And it’s no coincidence either that it was reproduced twice in Madeleine Rousseau’s famous magazine devoted to Oceanian art in 1951, and in the 1979 Art Papou exhibition catalog curated by Bernard de Grunne.
This rare taro pestle features a handle carved with a male figure.
The figure is shown standing, arms detached from the body, hands resting on the thighs.
The head is strongly proportioned to the body.
The high headdress on top of the skull is called a kauk (bonnet).
This headdress is characteristic of the Murik Lakes region, the mouths of the Sepik and Ramu rivers.
The long nose joining the umbilicus is curved at the tip.
This indicates that we have here a representation of a clan ancestral spirit.
Engraved zigzag motifs on the legs and upper back reproduce scarification marks.
These are known as taganap sigia and represent the identity of the clan.
The practice of scarification occurred during important changes in the passage of life, such as initiation, but also after the death of a loved one, presumably as a sign of alliance with the supernatural world into which the deceased had just entered.
A curvilinear engraved frieze forms the junction between the lower part and the footless sculpture.
In his book Art Papou, Bernard de Grunne suggests that this object could have been used as a mallet to strike a large garamut drum . However, the junction between the sculpture and the mallet appears to be too thin and fragile for such a use.
This sculpture, however aesthetically pleasing, does not represent the sculptor’s desire to create a beautiful object, as has sometimes been written.
He did so within the framework of a codification specific to his society, while giving free rein to his creative spirit, inspired, according to him, by his ancestral spirits.
It is therefore highly probable that the sculpture of this object had a special relationship with the spirit world, and also recalled some ancient myths now forgotten. Price: €17,000