Specifications

• Height: 126 cm
• Material: wood, pigments
• Position: 
• Gender: 
• Indigenous name: yamate
• Price realised: 5 1.417,-

Provenance

Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris 15-5-2002, lot 274; Collection M.L.; Cornette de Saint Cyr 1-6-2017, lot 18.

Publications

Ref.: Smidt, Dirk (ed.)(2003), Kamoro Art, p. 108-109, nr. 68

Additional information

‘Often referred to as ‘dance shields’ it is a rather confusing designation since they do not have defensive properties.’ ‘It seems more accurate to refer to these objects as ancestor boards.’ ‘Often the object receives the name of the deceased it represents. From this perspective, life and death, two diametrical opposed concepts, are united in one and the same object. This ambiguous characteristic of the object is also manifest in its use in the emakame feast. One of the most essential themes of this ceremony is the genesis of life from death.’ Karen Jacobs in Smidt.

Photo credits

Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris