Lot #9154 - An Important Ancient Stone Mortar and Pestles, Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea
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Auction House:Theodore Bruce
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Sale Name:Timed Online Auction | The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Asian Art | Day I
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Sale Date:08 Aug 2022 ~ 6pm (AEST)
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Lot #:9154
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Lot Description:An Important Ancient Stone Mortar and Pestles, Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea
These date from 2000 - 3000 years old. Some of the earliest known sculpture from Papua New Guinea are a series of ancient stone mortars & pestles unearthed in various locations on the island of New Guinea, primarily in the mountainous highlands of the interior. These stone sculptures fall into three basic categories: mortars, pestles, and freestanding figures. Mortars of great form with scalloped edges and pedestal base like this fine example were highly valued by the villagers who often found them when working in their gardens, when found they were cleaned & then coated with red ochre & re-purposed as magical objects that were kept with other ancestral relics. These early stone sculptures are often thought to be of supernatural origin and are reused in a variety of religious contexts, from fertility rituals to hunting magic and sorcery.
L 25, 11 cm -
Provenance:Old Collection Australia & The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art.
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Estimate:A$500 - 700
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Realised Price:
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Category:Tribal
This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.
