Lot 152
152
A MIDDLE SEPIK MALE FIGURE, standing on the domed base with the arms carved free of the body, the hands on the hips, the head with conus shell disc to the forehead, large cowrie inset eyes and split boars' tusks in the nose, the mouth with projecting tongue, a lateral crest to the head with cassowary feather fringe, a mask carved in relief on each shoulder, carved motifs about the body, crusty black patina with pinkish brown and white painted embellishments

Details
A MIDDLE SEPIK MALE FIGURE, standing on the domed base with the arms carved free of the body, the hands on the hips, the head with conus shell disc to the forehead, large cowrie inset eyes and split boars' tusks in the nose, the mouth with projecting tongue, a lateral crest to the head with cassowary feather fringe, a mask carved in relief on each shoulder, carved motifs about the body, crusty black patina with pinkish brown and white painted embellishments
1m.34cm. high

Lot Essay

Carl Schuster was fascinated by the indication of joint marks in sculptures about the Pacific rim, a subject he explored in a thesis (1951). Schuster deduced that most people who decorate joints seem to wish to protect those weaker entry points on the body from malevolent forces. It was with Schuster in mind that Philip Goldman acquired the present figure in 1963, and believed it was carved to replace an earlier, ancient, statue.

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