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Lot #9239 - A Rare Mourning Doll Mendi Valley Area, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. Mid-20th Century

  • Auction House:
    Theodore Bruce
  • Sale Name:
    Timed Online Auction | The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Asian Art | Day II
  • Sale Date:
    09 Aug 2022 ~ 6pm (AEST)
  • Lot #:
    9239
  • Lot Description:
    A Rare Mourning Doll Mendi Valley Area, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea. Mid-20th Century
    This expressive Female Ancestor Figure is quite different from the few other Mendi Mourning Dolls that I saw and collected in Mendi in the early 1980s, they were more formal with a stiff posture of standing figures with the arms held flatly to the sides. This figure is made from a wood or bamboo frame & then a type of village papier-mache applied over the frame which is made from local bush fibre materials. She is wearing a woven bilum bag on her head & has a necklace of jobs tears (Croix seeds) which are associated with mourning in the Highland of New Guinea. Her teeth are also cleverly made from jobs tears (Croix seeds). She has an animated look with one arm waving and the other hand out front as if receiving something. She look
    H 53 cm
  • Notes:
    These amazing figures were sometimes referred to as "Payback Dolls "in New Guinea Pidgin English, they were kept as a reminder that revenge or "Payback" was to be exacted on the other village for one of their clan having been killed.
  • Estimate:
    A$400 - 600
  • 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.



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