Abelam Nggwalndu Spirit Figure-ex. George Kennedy-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
This ancient pre-contact, stone-carved Abelam ancestral spirit figure, “Nggwalndu”, was collected by the UCLA geophysicist Dr. George Kennedy in the late 1950s/early 1960s. It was part of his estate that sold after his death in the Christie’s Los Angeles auction on February 14th, 1981, lot 66b. Notice the light openwork construction with limbs cut free from the body—a sign of a very early Abelam figure. The expression is restrained with a downcast gaze that was too powerful and dangerous to beheld by anyone but a fully-initiated man. The figure was no. 1 in my Art of the Abelam catalog from 2015. It stands 109” (277 cm) in height, dates to the 19th century and the price is available upon request.
This ancient pre-contact, stone-carved Abelam ancestral spirit figure, “Nggwalndu”, was collected by the UCLA geophysicist Dr. George Kennedy in the late 1950s/early 1960s. It was part of his estate that sold after his death in the Christie’s Los Angeles auction on February 14th, 1981, lot 66b. Notice the light openwork construction with limbs cut free from the body—a sign of a very early Abelam figure. The expression is restrained with a downcast gaze that was too powerful and dangerous to be held by anyone but a fully-initiated man. The figure was no. 1 in my Art of the Abelam catalog from 2015. It stands 109” (277 cm) in height, dates to the 19th century.