Leg of a bed "patapat"
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 91
81st Tribal Art AuctionLeg of a bed "patapat"
Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - Admirality Islands
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
H: 17.3 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, middle brown patina, tripartite construction: massive base on disc-shaped foot, carved with a janus-half figure, originally crowned by a plug-shaped projection (now missing), which served for mortizing into the framing of the bed, dam., minor missing parts (ears), cracks, abrasion of paint, base;
so-called "patapats" form part of the brides dowry. Feastful adorned sitting on a "patapat" the bride was carried to her future husbands house. The beds played an important role at burial rites as well. The common canoe-prow like decoration reminds of the imagination of "soul-boats" we know from Indonesia.
Ohnemus, Sylvia, Zur Kultur der Admiralitäts-Insulaner in Melanesien, Basel 1996, p. 281 ff.