Female anthropomorphic sculpture, West Papua (New Guinea). - Lot 327

Female anthropomorphic sculpture, West Papua (New Guinea). Female anthropomorphic sculpture, executed in the round, nude, knees and elbows bent, the whole forming a chevron and counter-chevron motif, one on top of the other. The arms are outstretched in the direction of the head, which they frame but do not hold. A raffia bracelet adorns the right arm. The ears are also adorned with raffia rings (one missing). The face is marked on the cheeks by scarification marks (or tattoos). The posture is characteristic of Asmat statuary and recalls the primordial position, when Fuméripitsj, the creator in Asmat cosmology, made human beings and, through music, released them from their original position. The posture of bent arms and knees also has links with the posture of the praying mantis, an insect symbolically linked to headhunting, a ritual and ceremonial activity once essential to Asmat social life. The simplified motif of this posture is found on other Asmat artistic creations (and more broadly is a common motif in Austronesian statuary from Insulindia and Melanesia). As a female figure, this statue could be a female ancestor (named "kawe"), the mother of a lineage. Traces of polychromy, smooth patina, traces of woodworm, missing parts (notably the head) and cracks. Asmat, (Central region?), West Papua (New Guinea). On base. Dimensions: 120 cm high, 25 cm wide. Estimated dating: First half of the 20th century Provenance : - Acquired by Georges Alliou - by descent Selective bibliography: * on the Asmat in general: - Musée Territorial de Nouvelle-Calédonie, L'art Asmat, Musée Territoire de Nouvelle-Calédonie, 1999 - MUDEC (Milano, Italy), Eravamo cacciatori di teste. Riti, vita e arte delle popolazioni Asmat, 2018, MUDEC - Philippe PELTIER (dir), Shadows of New Guinea. Arts de la grande île d'Océanie dans les collections Barbier-Mueller, Somogy, Paris, 2006 ; pp. 260-277 * Examples in specialized literature: - Michael C. ROCKFELLER, 1967, The Asmat. Michael C. Rockfeller expeditions, Museum of Primitive Art, pp. 271, fig. D - Ignatius SUHARNO, Ukiran-Ukiran Kayu Irian Jaya: The Art of Woodcarving in Irian Jaya, Jakarta: Regional Government of Irian Jaya, and United Nations Development Programme, 1977 ; fig. 125. Corpus for matching : - Lot 361, Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris - Nov. 17, 2020 - Lot 17, Millon et Associés, Paris - Dec. 19, 2019 - Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (Paris) : 71.1970.21.10