Nggwalndu anthropomorphic sculpture - Lot 44

Nggwalndu anthropomorphic sculpture Abelam population, Prince Alexander Mountains region, Papua New Guinea. Wood and pigments H. 120 cm Large male anthropomorphic sculpture richly decorated with painted motifs and figures of the hornbill, a mythical bird among the Abelam people. The figure stands with his arms resting on either side of his navel. Two hornbill heads crown the ancestor's forehead. On the back of the figure, two beaks emerge from the nape of the neck. As Jean-Edouard Carlier points out (Art de Papouasie Nouvelle-Guine, Paris, 2010), this type of Abelam statue represents the nggwalndu spirit, "a mythical ancestor who is considered the founder of the clan and the receptacle of the spirits of all deceased clan members". Superb yellow, red, black and white polychromy and intense evocative power for this large-scale figure. Condition report: Minor loss of material and pigments, in keeping with use and age.