A Fine Old Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This is old Canoe Prow Ornament from the Asmat People, Asatat Village in the remote NW West Asmat Area on the South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia.  This beautiful old carving of three heads stacked one on top of the other are likely a reference to headhunting.  In pre-contact times headhunting was prolific as it was part of the Asmat people’s spiritual well-being.

I collected this canoe ornament in 1985 I told that it was made by their grandfather and kept as a memory.

I spent a lot of time in the Asmat region in the early 1980’s and old sculptures of this quality were rare.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art

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