Deceased Male Ancestor
From book "My First Ninety Years"
New Guinea, Sepik River area, early 20th century
monoxyl red-brown painted wood
h. 36.5 cm
MGZ 4751
This is a mythical being that rules the life of the clan. The treatment of the nose gives a closer definition of the place where it was created, the Rama valley. From this most important art centre of the Sepik River, the one-time empress’s Augusta River, which then belonged to the Germans, came little sculptures, regularly bought by Paul Cassirer (there were six of them in the Cassirer flat).
Literature: Šterk, Slavko. Tilla Durieux and Her Art Collection in Zagreb. Zagreb: Zagreb City Museum, 1986, p. 47