Kandimbong statuette, Sepik province Oriental,... Lot 74

Kandimbong statuette, Sepik province Oriental, coastal region Papua New Guinea Wood with brown patina Circa 1930 Height: 13 cm Provenance: Crispin Howarth Collection, Australia Crispin Howarth Collection, Australia The head is crowned with a headdress. As in most Lower Sepik sculptures, the long nose probably indicates that the figure embodies a mythological spirit and not a true ancestor, whose smaller formats, as seen here, were worn as personal amulets to help protect ancestral spirits in various areas of daily life. The anthropo-zoomorphic figure stands in the conventional posture, standing on short legs - the feet merging into a circular base, the arms free from the body, the hands resting on the hips. The face, dominated by two large round eyes, is prolonged by a long nasal appendage curving down to the lower abdomen, evoking a bird's beak, an element that would seem to indicate the spiritual nature of the entity represented. The head is topped by a high conical crest engraved with deep motifs. The surface has a glossy brown patina, the contours of which are in places enhanced by a white coating, attesting to the use of this protective charm, guaranteeing the intimate link between the individual and the clan spirit.