Okapa region, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Circa 1940
Height 54 in
Provenance: Wayne Heathcoate, London; Stephen Kellner Gallery, Sydney; Stan Moriarty, Sydney, field collected in the 1960s
Decoy figures from the New Guinea Highlands were regarded as the homes of protective spirits and were erected beside special walled enclosures along the perimeter of a village. They were understood to help guard the community against enemy night raids, standing as both protective presence and visual warning. These figures are quite rare, with the majority of known examples now held in museum collections.
This example retains its original accoutrements, including a human hair wig and a traditional necklace made of bone, shell, and seed pods. The figure supports a pair of bilum bags, while the waist is adorned with a fiber skirt and pubic cover. The outlines of the nose and mouth are highlighted with red ocher, giving the face a direct and alert presence.
As a featured work, the figure is notable for its scale, completeness, and strong field-collected history. An arrow tip was once embedded in the shoulder, directly attesting to its function as a protector against tribal night raids, though it is now missing. Its surviving adornments and protective role make it a powerful example of Highlands ritual sculpture from Papua New Guinea.
To read more from Mark about this extraordinary item, please click here.
Okapa region, Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Circa 1940
Height 54 in
Provenance: Wayne Heathcoate, London; Stephen Kellner Gallery, Sydney; Stan Moriarty, Sydney, field collected in the 1960s
Decoy figures from the New Guinea Highlands were regarded as the homes of protective spirits and were erected beside special walled enclosures along the perimeter of a village. They were understood to help guard the community against enemy night raids, standing as both protective presence and visual warning. These figures are quite rare, with the majority of known examples now held in museum collections.
This example retains its original accoutrements, including a human hair wig and a traditional necklace made of bone, shell, and seed pods. The figure supports a pair of bilum bags, while the waist is adorned with a fiber skirt and pubic cover. The outlines of the nose and mouth are highlighted with red ocher, giving the face a direct and alert presence.
As a featured work, the figure is notable for its scale, completeness, and strong field-collected history. An arrow tip was once embedded in the shoulder, directly attesting to its function as a protector against tribal night raids, though it is now missing. Its surviving adornments and protective role make it a powerful example of Highlands ritual sculpture from Papua New Guinea.
To read more from Mark about this extraordinary item, please click here.
