A Superb Old Lake Sentani Net Weaving Shuttle Set NW Coast West Papua

A Superb Old Lake Sentani Net Weaving Shuttle Set from West Papua (Irian Jaya ) Indonesia

This beautiful old Lake Sentani Net Weaving Shuttle Set was one of the first artworks that I collected on Lake Sentani 38 years ago. It comprises three pieces used for weaving fishing nets or other types of woven objects, there is a flat weaving shuttle that is finely carved from hardwood with pairs of totemic lizards at either end, and the flat part in the middle is carved with finely incised scrolling designs called fou which is a chiefly design used on artworks made for the chiefly families or Ondafi.  The two wood needle-like objects are also deeply incised with fou designs and the ends which are open to me look like bird’s beaks which you can see clearly in one photo.

The string that was used for weaving was hand-made from tree bark that was made by women in their spare time.  When I was there I didn’t see any traditional string or rope being made in Lake Sentani because they had nylon string & rope and making it from tree bark was no longer necessary.  In the remote villages in the Asmat & Marind Anim & Baliem Valley, I often saw women making tree bark strings whenever they had a spare moment.

I was told that this Weaving Set belonged to the family’s grandparents as an heirloom that was no longer used in weaving.

They are on two custom stands as seen in the photos

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art