Ancestor Figure Item Number: 2751/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Tall wood carving of an ancestor figure standing on a mounded base. Covered with carved body tattoos, a mask-like face on each shoulder, a protruding belly, and large genitalia hanging out from behind a bark loin cloth attached to a grass belt, the figure wears an elaborate mask painted in white, red and black pigments. The mask has large cowrie shell eyes, boar tusks sticking out of the nostrils, elaborate earrings, a feather headdress plus fringe of feathers, and is surrounded with a clay border into which are embedded numerous tiny shells.
Iconographic Meaning
The large figure represents a water Maselai, an evil spirit living in the Sepik River. The small figure represents someone who drowned because of the Maselai.
Item History
- Made in Kaminibit, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea during 1975
- Collected during 1975
- Owned by Kitty Heller before July 26, 2009
- Received from Kitty Heller (Donor) on July 26, 2009
What
- Name
- Ancestor Figure
- Identification Number
- 2751/1
- Type of Item
- figure
- Material
- wood, clay, feather, grass fibre, paint, cowrie shell, shell, boar tusk and bark
- Overall
- height 255.0 cm, width 63.0 cm, depth 31.0 cm
Who
- Culture
- New Guinea
- Previous Owner
- Kitty Heller
- Received from
- Kitty Heller (Donor)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Kaminibit, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
When
- Creation Date
- during 1975
- Collection Date
- during 1975
- Ownership Date
- before July 26, 2009
- Acquisition Date
- on July 26, 2009
Other
- Item Classes
- carvings & sculpture
- Condition
- fair
- Accession Number
- 2751/0001