Pacific Islands More Folk Art

Impressively carved from a single block of wood, this monumental male spirit or ancestor figure originates from the Middle Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. The figure combines stron...

Antique Ethnic Artifact Sepik River Cassowary Bone from Papua New Guinea For many groups in Papua New Guinea, bone was an important medium for making tools of all types. This artifact is made from leg bone of a cassowary, a large, flightless, and extremely dangerous, bird. Cassowaries also play an important role in the mythology of groups in the Sepik River area. Though no longer used these bone artifacts are still used ceremonially. They often play important roles in male initiation and other rituals. They are also worn as personal adornment by tucking them into a band of braided fibers worn around the upper arm. Antique Ethnic Bone Cassowary Artifact with minimal carving and incised design confined to the joint end. A small hole has been drilled through from both sides of the top and presumably for the threading of a cord. The bone has been partially divided near the top and to form two prongs that project down the back of the dagger possibly allowing the user to wear is tuck into a waist band or belt. Origin Papua New Guinea Maprik Dist Area From the Art Collection of Marian and John Scott, acquired in 1962. Similar items are in display in the Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology. Purchased from the amazing private collection of Mark Lissauer who spent his life collecting niche ethnographic pieces. About Mark Lissauer: Mark Lissauer spent forty years travelling abroad for months at a time collecting ethnographic artefacts primarily from New Guinea and the islands of the West Pacific, and from Asia and Himalayan countries. Fluent in five languages and having in the course of business travelled to more than forty countries, Mark is well-known to museums and art-collectors around the world for his long career and his interesting and diverse collection of rare ethnographic material. Mark knows the origin and symbolism of each piece. Through extensive research and more than ninety trips around the globe, Mark familiarised himself with the traditions of the various cultures he visited in order to understand the meaning of each object to its region and tribe. His home has a specialist library and several rooms are filled with tribal carvings, textiles and ethnographica. He acquired his first tribal piece in 1948 during a business trip to Milne Bay, New Guinea, and has since documented the acquisition of some 35,000 items. Several thousands of these have been sold to important private collections and museums worldwide, including the Rockefeller Museum, the British Museum and the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, now incorporated into the Louvre Museum. Estimator certificate of authenticity by Wayne Heathcote Tribal Art Dealer and Expert. Heathcote has a flash gallery in Brussels, where much of the tribal art business is centred, and is an expert at Sotheby's tribal art sale...

A well preserved Yam Ancestor mask professionally presented on a museum quality acrylic display stand. The mask was a classic tribal art piece from Abela...

Two Oceanic ceremonial weapons from PNG highlands circa 20th century. It consists of two pieces. The first is an ax with a wood shaft and a flat elongated he...

A yam ancestor TOTEM pole from the mid-Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea. Carved out of a solid wood by the Abelam people, who cultivated yams as their main crop, the pole featu...

Ornately decorated rim, with abstract carving on bottom. Beautiful rich patina.

Ornately decorated rim, with abstract carvings on bottom. Beautiful rich patina.

A very exceptional bridal money as well in shape as in dimensions.

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club originates from the Morobe Province, which is a very remote area located within the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Gu...

Papua New Guinea: Talipun, Boiken, Sepik River Region  Northern Papua New Guinea, 20th Century  A fine example of the rich cultural heritage of Papua New ...

Note: This listing is for 1 of the Papa New Guinea Splash Boards featured, so if you decide to purchase, let us know which one you'd like. These decorative painted red and dark grey...

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club is from the remote Morobe Province located within the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The head is carved from...