This is a wooden Asmat ancestral carving which was likely created in Papua New Guinea in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is of moderate weight and is made of hard, dense wood. The figure is of a man, which can be determined by the characteristic phallus carving at the midsection. He is depicted as standing upright with both arms resting on the hips. Both legs feature triangular grooves cut into them (14 on the right leg and 15 on the left), at the middle of which is a swirling pattern. The arms are adorned with similar carvings (11 on the right arm and 8 on the left), which are also painted in red. The chest features a carving in the shape of a wide “M” and the stomach features a circular carving. Along the back runs a zig-zag pattern of carvings which were originally painted in white. Between the shoulder blades is another “M” carving. These carvings most likely denote a stylized form of muscle definition. The head of the figure is long and thin. It features a simple mouth, ears, eyes, and elongated nose. Alone its cheeks are vertical triangular carvings, 4 on the right and 3 on the left. Around the forehead is a carved red band. The face is covered in the remnants of white paint.
In much of Asmat culture, carvings for the dead and recently-deceased are produced for funerary events and festivals. After recent deaths, carvings are produced and placed in front of the deceased’s house in the form of a mock battle while community members carry out headhunting raids to seize an enemy head in exchange for the person that died. Death in Asmat culture is believed to never be accidental; it is the result of either headhunting or sorcery, and creates an imbalance in society which must be remedied by the collection of compensating enemy heads. Once this imbalance is remedied, carvings such as this are discarded in the sago forests so that the spirits which inhabit them may rejuvenate the sago trees.
Colors: Brown, Red, White, Black
