Collection Online as of June 6, 2023
Ancestral Figure
Painted wood with fiber and tapa cloth
Overall: 105.4 x 12.2 x 12.8 cm (41 1/2 x 4 13/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Munro 1971.150
Location
not on view
Description
In the Sepik River region, village social and ceremonial life centers on the men's house. Ritual objects such as slit gongs, orators' stools, and flutes are stored there; the most sacred objects are kept hidden from women and children. Carved wooden figures, which probably represent ancestors, were preserved in the men's houses.