Hunstein Mountain Garra Hook-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Garra were the spirits that helped the Bahinemo people be successful in hunting and warfare. The power of these carvings were considered so hot that they occasionally were submerged to temporarily mute its danger. You can see the effects of heavy erosion on this particular example even though the layers of pigments mean it was still ritually important many decades after submersion. This garra has been in storage for nearly fifty years in a warehouse in Phoenix and is on the market for the first time. It is pre-contact, stone-carved, dates to the late 19th/early 20th century and stands 30 ¼” (76.7 cm) in height.