Figural flute stopper, around 1900
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3047911
Figural flute stopper, around 1900
Papua New Guinea, Sawos
| Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Frank, New York, USA Sam & Sharon Singer, San Francisco, USA Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes, California, USA |
H: 21.3 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, pigment remains, shell material, base
According to Michael Hamson, this stone-carved flute stopper of the Sawos culture is pre-contact, stone-carved and has obviously had a rough existence in the field prior to collection.
Great bamboo flutes are amongst the most sacred and important objects of the clan. They are the voice of the spirits and must never be seen by women or uninitiated men.
Flute stoppers were used to contain the ancestral spirits residing in the ceremonial bamboo flutes.
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 227, ill. 238
