Boiken Figure-Pre-contact-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
This is an old friend I field collected in the Nagum Boiken area around Sassoya about 25 years ago and recently reacquired. I always love the combination of pure stone-carved rawness with real delicacy and elegance of the thin arms that loop away from the torso. The expression is quiet and benign—which, as you know, is rare for this region. Notice how the body is reptilian in shape in front and narrows down towards the back. The nose and ears are pierced as would have to be the case in such an ancient sculpture. The backside perfectly illustrates the stone-adzing one hopes to find on the earliest forms of New Guinea figurative art. The piece is assuredly 19th century, stands 21 ¼” (53.9 cm) in height.