Basket Hooks, Sepik River

Chris Boylan Oceanic Art

Two Basket Hooks, samban, Sepik River region, Papua New Guinea

a)   49 x 22 x 7cm        $ 2,500

b)   45 x 16 x 13cm       $ 2,800

Basket hooks along almost the entire length of the 700km Sepik River are carved from wood, with two or more hooks that carry baskets of food or woven bags holding valuables, principally to keep them out of reach of rats and insects. Importantly, these basket hooks also have figures, faces or totemic animals as the greater part of their form that are protective against evil spells and spirits.

a)        Basket Hook, Chambri Lake, Middle Sepik. Hooks from Chambri are recognised by their highly stylised central faces which face in opposite directions. This is an old hook figure, with two finely carved faces above a very elegant crescent shaped hook. The hooks have a deep patina from the constant hanging and removing of baskets over generations.

b)        Basket Hook, Murik Lakes, mouth of Sepik River.  Hooks from these coastal regions near the mouth of the Sepik typically have robust central figures carved with ancestral and totemic animal imagery. This example has four hooks and, while less refined than Middle Sepik hooks, it possesses a striking presence due to its mass and dynamic form. Remnants of red paint around the eyes and some engraved areas suggest the whole hook may once have been totally red in colour

$2,500.00

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