COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ● COLLECTION SALE ● US-CARS ● KUSTOM KULTURE ● MID-CENTURY ● HIFI CLASSICS ● AVIATION ● ALL ONE-OFFS ● PICKUP IN RICKENBACH ZH ●

Ceremonial staff in wood · two figures, paddle-shaped blade

NEU

Dark patina with pale coating · mask-like faces

Item no. 090-274-000

A long carved wooden staff: at the upper end two interlocked human figures with mask-like faces, toothed mouths and concentric eyes; at the lower end a broad paddle- or blade-shaped surface. The wood is dark, with a pale chalky coating that has stayed in the recesses.

What can be said — and what cannot

Stylistically the piece belongs to Melanesia; paired figures on staffs, toothed mouths and pale lime in carved lines occur this way on the Sepik in Papua New Guinea. But: there are no papers, no collection number and no proof of provenance. Age, workshop and use are unknown. Anyone expecting a documented collection piece is in the wrong place — anyone looking for a strong hand-carved object is in the right one.