Large Abelam Nggwalndu Figure-Lynda Cunningham-New Guinea Oceanic Art
The name the Abelam use for these large ancestral spirit figures is “Nggwalndu” which translates as “father’s father’s man.” It would be hard not to be proud of such a massive and powerful ancestor such as this sculpture brings to life. It is a stout male figure with powerful thighs, a downcast gaze and hornbill and cockatoo beaks sprouting top and bottom. The purposeful averting of the gaze is because the spirit’s direct gaze is too powerful to confront. This figure is an excellent early example collected by the noted field collector Lynda Cunningham in the late 1960s. It dates to the early 20th century, is 105 ½” (268 cm) in height.