Korwar
Geelvink Bay, West Papua
19th century

Provenance: Gosse Miedema, Bolsward, The Netherlands. Purchased by him in the 1930’s while studying medicine in Utrecht. Miedema was in close contact with the Utrecht Protestant Missionary Society, who was the main source for most Korwars and many of the Molucaan pieces in Dutch museums and collections.

The people of the coasts and islands of Cenderawasih Bay in northwest New Guinea created Korwar figures that portrayed recently deceased ancestors. Korwar imagery was highly conventionalized, depicting the ancestor in a seated or standing position, with a large head and arrow-shaped nose. These characteristics are the hallmarks of Cenderawasih carving.

Height: 10 inches / 25.4 cm
SOLD / IN 07-09-17