Mortar

Lower Sepik, PNG
19th Century
Previous Collection: Maurice de Vlaminck (Before 1920)
Published Guy Loudmer June 24th 1993

This figurative mortar is a fantastic example of lower Sepik art. The face has great character and the body is wonderfully conceived with great sweeps and angles. It is no mystery why Vlaminck owned this piece; it is a tour de force of sculpture. The patina is deep from years of ritual use. A feature worth mentioning, is the fact that this object has splotches of what is definitely oil paint. This tells us Vlaminck himself had this piece in his studio; perhaps feeding off of its artistic strength and thus influencing one of his great masterpieces.
This figure stands 11 inches tall

SOLD / IN 5-15-11