Ref. 850

SURREALISTIC SCULPTURE FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA.
CULTURE OF THE SEPIK PEOPLE. RAMU RIVER VALLEY.
XVI-XVIII CENTURIES.

Height: 30 cm (35 cm with the base)
Width: 8.5 cm
Side: 25 cm

Important wood sculpture from the Sepik culture of Papua New Guinea.
It was part of a larger set, probably a totem of which it would be the top part. It represents, in an extraordinarily surrealistic way, the image of an ancestor-predecessor. The female human figure is represented in a circular form, so that in front is the head, where different perforations on the face stand out (nose, ears and cheeks); above, the torso continues with the breasts and arms; through the back, lower back and belly and below, flexed legs and feet. The figure, with a quadrangular structure, seen from the side, shows a star or diamond shape inside.

Provenance: New York Public Auction / New York Private Collection

Price: 5,000 €