Male ancestor figure
Artist
Unrecorded Murik artist
(Papua New Guinea)
Datenot dated
Mediumwood, cowrie shells
DimensionsOverall: 68.3 x 16.8 x 13 cm (26 7/8 x 6 5/8 x 5 1/8 in.)
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Purchased 1974.
Object number1974.16.5
Classificationssculpture
On View
Not on viewCarved figures such as this one, along with masks, musical instruments, and other items would have been part of cultural rituals structured around an ancestor cult – i.e. the veneration and honouring of one’s predecessors. Far from simple aesthetic objects, they created connection between the physical and spiritual realms through ceremony.
