Boiken Double Face Spirit Carving-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
What I love about Boiken sculpture is its unpredictability. I have never seen such a piece as this with two large ancestral spirit faces stacked vertically. The Boiken carver would have knowledge of clan-specific markings and designs necessary to signify a sculpture comes from his group but beyond that there is incredible freedom on how he may create and compose figures. I love how the heads are both offset slightly vertically and how the top one leans slightly forward. There are nice remains of both natural and Western pigments. The faces have pierced noses and the scooped-out backside is indicative of an early piece. Adhered to the previous display base was a sticker with an inventory number 3573/64. The sculpture dates to the 1920-40s era, stands 29 ¾” (75.5 cm) in height.