IATMUL, Middle-Sepik region, Papua New Guinea. - Lot 77

IATMUL, Middle-Sepik region, Papua New Guinea. Beautiful hook showing a standing figure, the chin extending into a tapering bird's beak, the tip symbolically ending on the lower abdomen. The hands are placed in the center of the beak. The long nose is flanked by two lateral eyes stretched to their ends. Wood, shell, old brown patina, slightly thick in places, marks of use. Dimensions: 40 × 14 cm Provenance : Former Long Island Collection, New York. Former Nancy and John Hyde Devoe Collection, New York, established between 1950 and 1970. Among the Iatmul of Middle-Sepik, carved hooks (samban) were hung from the beams of men's houses to hang baskets, nets or offerings, combining domestic use with a ceremonial role during ritual gatherings and initiation stages. On this example, the long nose extended into a beak that joins the belly condenses key images of Sepik statuary: the "nose-beak" - frequently interpreted as an avian or nasal motif - refers to the mediation of ancestors and fertilizing energy linked to growth cycles, while its contact with the belly evokes regeneration and transmission of vitality to the group.