Telefomin, West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
1960
Wood, natural pigments
Height: 59 in (149.9 cm); Width: 21¾ in (55.2 cm)
Provenance: Richard Majewski, Hacienda Heights, California; Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes, California
Shields from the Telefomin region of the West Sepik Province were carried in intergroup warfare and served as markers of identity and group affiliation, their painted surfaces encoding visual information specific to the maker's community. The Telefomin people of the highland fringe between the Sepik and Fly River watersheds produced a distinctive shield form — tall and rectangular with rounded corners — painted in white, red-brown, and black with geometric compositions organized around a central vertical axis. Spiral motifs at the upper and lower registers and a bold central diamond configuration are characteristic of the tradition.
The pigments retain strong contrast across the full face of the shield, the white ground crisp against the red-brown geometric patterning. The composition is symmetrically organized, with paired spirals at top and bottom flanking a central hourglass or diamond form, the serrated border running the full perimeter. The California provenance through Michael Hamson, a specialist dealer in Papua New Guinea and Oceanic art, places this piece within a well-documented collecting context.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Telefomin, West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
1960
Wood, natural pigments
Height: 59 in (149.9 cm); Width: 21¾ in (55.2 cm)
Provenance: Richard Majewski, Hacienda Heights, California; Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes, California
Shields from the Telefomin region of the West Sepik Province were carried in intergroup warfare and served as markers of identity and group affiliation, their painted surfaces encoding visual information specific to the maker's community. The Telefomin people of the highland fringe between the Sepik and Fly River watersheds produced a distinctive shield form — tall and rectangular with rounded corners — painted in white, red-brown, and black with geometric compositions organized around a central vertical axis. Spiral motifs at the upper and lower registers and a bold central diamond configuration are characteristic of the tradition.
The pigments retain strong contrast across the full face of the shield, the white ground crisp against the red-brown geometric patterning. The composition is symmetrically organized, with paired spirals at top and bottom flanking a central hourglass or diamond form, the serrated border running the full perimeter. The California provenance through Michael Hamson, a specialist dealer in Papua New Guinea and Oceanic art, places this piece within a well-documented collecting context.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
