COCKATOO SCULPTIURE, Abelam, papua New Guinea

Chris Boylan Oceanic Art

            COCKATOO SCULPTURE, Abelam, Prince Alexander Mountains, PNG

This carved cockatoo with a double head - one looking forward, the other upwards - has an extraordinary vitality in its workmanship. The bird sits proud of the base, which is engraved with curvilinear designs. The colours are strong but muted. This is obviously part of a larger sculture, and it is in fact part of a Spirit House lintel, called tikit in Abelam. These lintels generally have numerous spherical heads on a long leavy carved wood that forms a cross-piece at the front of the Spirit House. At the ends are usually two ancestral animals - bird, pig, dog etc. I heve never seen one so dynamic - a true masterpiece.

$3,500.00

Artwork details