Specifications

• Height: 45 cm.
• Material: wood
• Position: standing
• Gender:
• Indigenous name: korwar
• Price realised: € 16.305,-

Provenance

W.E.C. Veen (1890-1940), colonial official in the Dutch East-Indies, acq. ca 1910s; thence trough family descent; Van Spengen, Hilversum 30-9-2021, lot 3508.

Publications

Held, G.J. (1957), The Papuas of Waropen, 6.

Exhibitions

Additional information

Label reads Waroppen (Waropen) W N Guinea, Vaste Wal (mainland) Jappengroep (Yapen group of inhabitants). Rarely found is this kind of statue standing and witout a shield. The body is treated in a different way than is usually encountered. The hands and arms are held in a different position, likewise a diminutive penis is visible. There is a hole that continues towards the back – for attachment reasons? The colour red is visible in the notched vertical lines extending from shoulders to feet. The feet are rendered in what can be called Yapen style, curved.

Is the handwriting done by Veen or by a missionary (Van Hasselt?)

Photo credits

Van Spengen, Hilversum