A SEPIK TERRA COTTA ROOF FINIAL

Provenance: Philip and Rosalind Goldman, London

Iatmul, roof finial of a men's cult house "Konguwavi",
Pottery ornament in the form of an inverted pot bearing a human figure surmounted by a bird. Aibom was one of the most important pottery manufacturing villages in the Sepik, where fire hearths, bowls, sago jars and gable ornaments were traded across the region. Historically, pots were made by women, with decorative modelling undertaken by men. Lit: "Tanz der Ahnen", Kunst von Sepik in Papua Neu Guinea, page 163, Kat.41

Aibom village, Chambri Lakes, East Sepik Province.
Terra cotta, 41 x 30 cm

Price: Upon request