Papua New Guinea, Okapa region, Eastern Highlands
Circa 1940
Wood, human hair, bone, shell, seed pods, fiber, red ocher
Height: 54 in (137.2 cm)
Provenance: Wayne Heathcoate, London; Stephen Kellner Gallery, Sydney; Stan Moriarty, Sydney, field collected in the 1960s
Decoy figures from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea were understood as dwelling places for protective spirits, erected beside walled enclosures along village perimeters to guard against enemy night raids. They served simultaneously as spiritual shield and physical warning, standing watch at the boundaries where community safety was most vulnerable. The majority of documented examples are now held in museum collections, making field-collected pieces with intact provenance increasingly uncommon.
This figure retains its original adornments: a human hair wig, a necklace of bone, shell, and seed pods, a pair of bilum bags, and a fiber skirt and pubic cover. The nose and mouth are outlined in red ocher, giving the face an alert, forward presence. An arrow tip was once embedded in the shoulder, direct physical evidence of the figure's role on the village perimeter, though it is no longer present.
At 54 inches tall, the figure is notable for its scale, completeness, and the strength of its field-collected provenance chain. It passed through three documented collections across London and Sydney before entering the current holding, with field collection in the 1960s placing it within the period of active ceremonial use. Pieces of this size and documentary integrity from the Eastern Highlands are seldom available outside institutional collections.
To read more from Mark about this extraordinary item, please click here.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Papua New Guinea, Okapa region, Eastern Highlands
Circa 1940
Wood, human hair, bone, shell, seed pods, fiber, red ocher
Height: 54 in (137.2 cm)
Provenance: Wayne Heathcoate, London; Stephen Kellner Gallery, Sydney; Stan Moriarty, Sydney, field collected in the 1960s
Decoy figures from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea were understood as dwelling places for protective spirits, erected beside walled enclosures along village perimeters to guard against enemy night raids. They served simultaneously as spiritual shield and physical warning, standing watch at the boundaries where community safety was most vulnerable. The majority of documented examples are now held in museum collections, making field-collected pieces with intact provenance increasingly uncommon.
This figure retains its original adornments: a human hair wig, a necklace of bone, shell, and seed pods, a pair of bilum bags, and a fiber skirt and pubic cover. The nose and mouth are outlined in red ocher, giving the face an alert, forward presence. An arrow tip was once embedded in the shoulder, direct physical evidence of the figure's role on the village perimeter, though it is no longer present.
At 54 inches tall, the figure is notable for its scale, completeness, and the strength of its field-collected provenance chain. It passed through three documented collections across London and Sydney before entering the current holding, with field collection in the 1960s placing it within the period of active ceremonial use. Pieces of this size and documentary integrity from the Eastern Highlands are seldom available outside institutional collections.
To read more from Mark about this extraordinary item, please click here.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
