A Superb Old New Guinea Coconut Spoon Papuan Gulf Area South Coast Papua New Guinea
Collection No. | TB-2907 |
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Size | Height 14cm |
A Superb Old New Guinea Coconut Spoon Papuan Gulf Area, South Coast Papua New Guinea. Dating from the late 19th to early 20th Century.
This superb old Coconut Spoon is from the Elema People of Orokolo Bay the Papuan Gulf. In the form of an Imunu Spirit Figure, similar to the images on the better-known Gope Spirit Boards from the same area.
In the past, the primary focus of religious and artistic life in this region was based on powerful spirits called Imunu. Each clan had specific imunu Spirits that were associated with a specific location in the landscape, rivers, or sea, and was linked to the specific clan.
This beautiful sculpture has always reminded me of the modernist painting by Edvard Munch ” The Scream “. I am sure the Papuan Gulf artist had a Imunu Spirit Figure in mind but the visual impact of this simple sculpture is captivating no matter the culture or the viewer or their interpretation.
Provenance:
The Dr. Leonard Warnock Collection Sydney (1915-1999) was acquired in the 1950s
Chris & Anna Thorpe Collection Sydney
The world-famous Elizabeth Pryce Collection Sydney Australia formerly in Sotheby’s Paris October 10, 2018, lot 130.
The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art