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1911.10.22

Ebony staff, carved with two seated human figures at one end, remnants of pigment inlay [ZM 27/4/2016]

1911.10.22

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Collection type
Object
Description
Ebony staff, carved with two seated human figures at one end, remnants of pigment inlay [ZM 27/4/2016]
Geographical reference
Papua New Guinea
Oceania > Melanesia > Papua New Guinea
probably Trobriand Islands
Person
Field collector Henry Balfour
PRM source Henry Balfour
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1911
Date collected
By 1911
Acquisition information
Donated: 1911
Materials and processes
Material Ebony Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Incised, Process Inlaid
Dimensions
Length: max 957 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1911.10.22
Research and responses

See page 122 of Eric Kjellgren, Oceania: art of the Pacific Islands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007) for the following description of ritual staffs from the Trobriand Islands: 'Ritual staffs were produced in the Trobriand Islands but they appear to have been primarily employed in the southern Massim region, where they were used in some areas for healing rites and in others for malevolent magic. The tops of the staffs were typically adorned with one or two seated figures. These human images, like those on the lime spatulas, may have served as temporary residing places for spirits - in this case, for spirits who assisted the religious specialist in the rites.' [ZM 13/07/2015]

Search terms: Figure, Carving

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