- 2 Frassetto Way - Lincoln Park, NJ 07035
Louis Ledoux: Papua New Guinea Collection
Lot 214:
Ancestor figure, Kandimbong, large, with conical headdress and mask-like face. Simple, clean lines, yet very expressive.
Traditional Lower Sepik River figures, representing clan founders, actual ancestors, ancestor spirits, or mythical cultural heroes are generally called Kandimbong, and include small amulet (malita) figures and larger figures of human form such as this. They were consulted on various occasions and provided with food/drink much as one would give offerings to deities in other traditions. The figures were carved either by men or women, and carried by either gender, but the most important ones tended to be kept in the male ceremonial house “Tamberan” before being brought out for ceremonial occasions.
Locale: Lower Sepik River
Country: Papua New Guinea
Date: 1936 or earlier
Material: Wood
Dimensions: H 25"
Technique: Carved
Provenance: Louis Pierre Ledoux Collection
Sources:
Page 207-208 Suzanne Greub (ed.), 1985, Tribal Art Centre, Basel. Authority and Ornament: Art of the Sepik River Papua New Guinea. Published in conjunction with the exhibition.
Page 96 Peter Brunt et al (ed.), 2012, Yale University Press. Art in Oceania: a new history.
2015 Myth Magic exhibit at National Gallery of Australia in Canberra
https://nga.gov.au/exhibition/MythMagic/Default.cfm?IRN=243773&MnuID=3&ViewID=2
https://nga.gov.au/exhibition/MythMagic/Default.cfm?IRN=82555&MnuID=3&ViewID=2
Page 104 Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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