Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 2005-0006-0028 | |
| Category | Carvings; Ceremonial Items | |
| Object Name | Orator's pulpit | |
| Culture | Melanesian: Iatmul People | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | East Sepik Province | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | Middle Sepik River area: Village: Kanganaman | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. 1965 | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Wood; Natural pigments; Dried mud; Shells; Native cordage; Cassowary feathers; Boar tusk | |
| Description | Orator's pulpit in the form of standing male figure, representing the primeval creator, who is depicted wearing an elaborately carved mask that is painted with rust brown and white pigments and decorated with shell-encrusted mud, a boar's tusk through the nose, a cascade of cassowary feathers on top, and a band of black cordage tassels along bottom (probably representing a beard); Figure is seated on a broad stool, with his own legs forming two of the stool's supports and the third support on the back bearing another carved and decorated mask; All three supports of the stool are joined to a broad support base, all carved from a single piece of wood; Stools or pulpits of this type are placed next to the central support of the Men's House and during debates, the person speaking holds a bundle of ritual leaves and either strikes the seat of the stool or places a leaf from the bundle on the seat to underscore key points of his speech. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Height = ca. 153.0, Width = 42.7, Depth = 41.2 | |