Catalog Number
|
Catalog Number |
CAS 2014-0001-0038 | |
| Category | Carvings | |
| Object Name | Staff | |
| Culture | Melanesian | |
| Global Region | Oceania | |
| Country | Papua New Guinea | |
| State/Prov./Dist. | Milne Bay Province | |
| County | ||
| Other Geographic Data | Trobriand Islands | |
| Maker's Name | Unknown | |
| Date of Manufacture | ca. early 1990s | |
| Collection Name | N/A | |
| Materials | Wood; Shell: Abalone (Haliotis sp.) | |
| Description | Cylindrical staff intricately carved from a single piece of wood and bearing a series of human, snake, and floral figures; Starting at the base is a headless snake’s body entwined around the staff; Above it is a crocodile’s head but without a body, followed by three flowers, each supported on separate 3-dimensional stems and with small round pieces of abalone shell set in their centers; Next highest is a standing human with a snake entwined around his or her body, grasping the snake’s head in his or her hands; Human also appears to have snake-like tail, has pieces of abalone shell set into each shoulder and hip, and wears an elaborate headdress that includes a stylized bird head, whose long beak forms the back of the figure’s hair; Above the headdress the 3 flowers are again repeated, followed by a second standing human, similar in form to the first one, but facing in the opposite direction, supporting a flower (instead of a snake) at his or her waist, and wearing a shorter headdress in the form of a mythical creature whose distended tongue trails down the figure’s back; Above the headdress are 3 more flowers. | |
| Dimensions (cm) | Max Diam = 2.1, Length = 82.5 | |