Male Figure

Unknown

19th century or earlier · Wood, feathers, cowrie shells, fiber · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Board-like images are, or were, made in a number of areas of the Lower Sepik region. The body of this figure from the Keram River resembles the blade of a canoe paddle from whose surface a face, arms, and a phallus emerge to form a human image. This figure was almost certainly a sacred image portraying a powerful spirit or ancestor and was likely kept within the men’s ceremonial house of the village. The jaw line is embellished with cowrie shells, precious objects that served as ornaments and ceremonial currency. The figure appears to wear a headdress, adorned with cowrie shells and trimmed with the feathers of the cassowary, a large ostrich-like bird. The figure grasps a long cylindrical object, possibly representing a snake.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century or earlier

Medium

Wood, feathers, cowrie shells, fiber

Culture

Keram River region

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

Gift of Evelyn A. J. Hall, 1981