Specifications

• Height: 30 cm.
• Material: wood, cotton
• Position: squatting
• Gender: male
• Indigenous name: korwar
• Price realised: € 8.000,- hp

Provenance

Cornelis Tjepko Bertling (1891-1970), Bloemendaal; thence by descent to his son; Venduehuis, The Hague 9-9-2021, lot 688.

Publications

Ref.: Baaren, Th. P. van (1968), Korwars and Korwar style, ill. 40; Corbey, Raymond (2019), Korwar, Northwest New Guinea ritual art according to missionary sources, p. 119, fig. 87.

Exhibitions

Additional information

The reference work cited above illustrates a korwar from South Biak, formerly in the Henry Blekkink collection (000435) which shows the same features and position and could well be attributed to the same artist. For another almost similar figure see, same source, p. 127, fig. 95. Van Baaren o.c. illustrates a similar korwar in profile (NMVW/ Volkenkunde Leiden inv. nr. 1971-1525) not only showing the same features but also cloth pulled through the septum and ears. Probably carved by the same hand. For an other 

Photo credits

Arend Velsink/ Venduehuis, The Hague