Female anthropomorphic statue, Papua New Guinea. - Lot 321

Female anthropomorphic statue, Papua New Guinea. Female anthropomorphic figure, nude, with visible breasts and vulva. Despite the deliberate disproportion between body and head, the face shows a certain degree of realism, unusual in the art of populations from the Iatmul linguistic area. The legs are slightly bent, as are the arms, which rest on the hips. The feet are missing, suggesting that they were part of a horizontal base that has now disappeared. This figure appears to be an effigy of an ancestor. The configuration of the feet suggests either that the figure was part of a hook (called a "samban") or that it was a cult figure, imitated from hooks, simply placed against a post in the men's house (the meeting and living place of the initiated men of the village). Hooks are both utilitarian objects and religious supports, especially when the vertical axis adopts an anthropomorphic form. Hooks are common in Middle Sepik cultures (Iatmul linguistic group). Missing pieces, woodworm marks and cracks. Iatmul or Sawos (?) (Iatmul language group), Middle Sepik, East Sepik Province (Papua New Guinea). On base. Dimensions: 72 cm high (including base), 27 cm wide (maximum extension). Estimated dating: Beginning to first half of 20th century Provenance : - Acquired by Georges Alliou - by descent Selective bibliography: * On the art of Sepik: - Philippe PELTIER (ed.), 2015, Sepik. Arts de Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Skira & Musée du Quai Branly * On the art of the Iatmul and Sawos: - Ina R. DINERMAN " Iatmul art as Iconographye ", revue Anthropos n°76 (5/6), pp. 807-824 - A.J.P. MEYER, Oceanian Art, Könemann, Cologne, 1995 ; pp. 220-231 & pp. 252-259 * On the figures of the Sepik hanging hooks: - Crispin HOWARTH, 2015, Myth + magic. Art of the Sepik river, Papua New Guinea, National Gallery of Australia, pp. 144 -149 & pp. 177-179 Corpus for matching : - Lot 70, Binoche et Giquello, Paris - June 29, 2021 - Lot 22, Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg - Oct. 24, 2020