A Superb Pair of New Guinea Carved Portrait Heads Middle Sepik River East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Superb Pair of New Guinea Carved Portrait Heads Middle Sepik River East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

This Pair of finely carved and ochre-painted Ancestor Portrait Heads are from the Iatmul People in the Middle Sepik River Area, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

These Ancestor Heads are so sensitively rendered as if they are portraits of real people that the artist knew. Depicting a male & female ancestor, they are each carved from a single piece of hardwood and decorated with real human hair and caved wood ear ornaments that look like real shells, the eyes have inset shells, and the ear lobes have shell earrings, finely painted in red, white & black ochre.

The base of these heads are socketed so that they could have been placed on a larger figurative sculpture as is common in the Middle Sepik area. Sometimes these wood heads were replacements for older over-modeled skulls of deceased relatives that were part of the ancient ceremonies of ancestor worship.

Tribes along the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea practiced a unique form of ancestor skull worship. Taking clay and mud from the riverbed, they would coat the skulls, giving them a new skin. In some cases, the ancestor’s head was mounted atop a carved figure, giving a “body” to the ancestor.

These earthy vestiges of the past were then painted, traced with designs, and decorated with wood, bone, fiber, real human hair, fur, and shells. When decorating the skull, it was believed that the spirit and vitality of the deceased would channel through the head, and help advise living descendants and imbue them with power.

Provenance: Collected in 1958 by an Australian Colonial Patrol Officer & The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art 

I first went to Papua New Guinea in 1985 for an adventure & what I found was that I really enjoyed being with the people of New Guinea, over the next 38 years I spent extensive time spent collecting and documenting traditional art & ceremonies in remote areas of Papua New Guinea & West Papua, The Solomon Islands & Vanuatu & the other Pacific Islands countries. During these travels, I made major collections of New Guinea & Oceanic Art for major Museums and Public Art Galleries

I was honored by being in the prestigious Louvre Museum Magazine for the collections I made for The Museum of African & Oceanic Art Paris in 1996 (now the Musee Quai Branly) for the exhibition “Asmat et Mimika d’ Irian Jaya April 1996 At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE, Paris

See all of the links & photos in my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY and there is the link to the article in the prestigious Louvre Magazine 1996

I have artwork for Museums & Art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery.  I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com  where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea & Oceanic Art. Sydney is just a couple hours’ flight to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbors.

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