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A very fine and early food dish carved with a stylized ancestor figure projecting from one edge
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A very fine and early food dish carved with a stylized ancestor figure projecting from one edge

Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art

Date 19th/20th century

Period 1750-1850, 1850-1900, 19th century, 20th century

Origin Melanesia

Medium Hard wood

Dimension 52 x 39 cm (20¹/₂ x 15³/₈ inches)

Boiken Plains, North Coast Sepik Region, PNG, Melanesia. Hard wood with a good patina of use and age. Probably carved with non-metal Tools. Ex Michael Hamson, Calif.
The back of the dish is well carved with a complex circuler motif highlighted with two ancestor faces. 

Date: 19th/20th century

Period: 1750-1850, 1850-1900, 19th century, 20th century

Origin: Melanesia

Medium: Hard wood

Dimension: 52 x 39 cm (20¹/₂ x 15³/₈ inches)

Provenance: Early platters with human figures extending from the sides are rare amongst the Boiken. In this case the ancestor is represented by the upper half including the torso and head of the figure. A more complexe example with two figures is illustrated in the JOLIKA collection of Marcia & John Friede, Rye, NY (Friede, JA. et al (Ed.), NEW GUINEA ART: Masterpieces from the JOLIKA Collection of Marcia and John Friede,
 San Francisco, 2005, Vol. 1, fig.: 35, p. 60 / Vol 2, fig.: 35, p. 88.

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Galerie Meyer-Oceanic Art

Tribal Art dealer specializing in early Oceanic Art since 1980 and archaic Eskimo Art since 2010

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