Ceremonial house panel, Upper Sepik River, Papua... Lot 100

Ceremonial house panel, Upper Sepik River, Papua New Guinea Carved wood with pigment enhancement. Provenance: Philip Goldman Collection, London - Philip Goldman Collection, London - Franco Ignazio Castelli Collection (1920-2002) - In the family to this day Exhibitions: - Creazione e tradizionze tribale. Center d'art Contemporary and Primitive Milano November-December 1971 - Creativita Tribale -Melanesia. Galleria Alessandra Castelli Bergamo, December 1974. reproduced in catalog no. 40/1684 Rectangular in shape, this large panel carved in high relief features a human face adorned with curvilinear facial paintings characteristic of the Mulmul'yonn clan, in the Woguma stylistic area. The stylized face represents that of the hero named Wulruwiyanggwet. The rich decoration of dark-brown circular shapes accentuates the dynamics, with small curvilinear arms projecting skywards, and the hands ingeniously positioned above the head, giving the embodied hero remarkable acrobatic flexibility. The character's round face with simplified, schematized features, whose expressiveness is accentuated by the light pigments covering it. The concentric ovoid eyes are intensified by the black of the pupils, while the mouth, enhanced with red pigments, reveals a broad smile. Beautiful polychromy with traces of white lime in the engraving recesses on this panel of this rare iconographic typology.