Admiralty Island Ladle-Martin Voigt-New Guinea Art
Admiralty Island Ladle
Admiralty Islands, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea
Collected by Martin Voigt (1878–1952), Postmaster to German New Guinea between 1902 and 1906
Christie’s New York, 20 November 1997, lot 152
David Rosenthal, San Francisco
Cathryn Cootner Collection, Sonoma, CA
19th century
10” (25.3 cm) in height
Elaborately decorated ladles were used in feasts and were often presented as gifts to whom the food was served. This example has a superb female figure with squared-off shoulders, large hands at the waist, and a clearly defined sex. The face is downward-looking with a restrained expression and the classic distended earlobes. The patina is ancient, dark brown, and glossy with age.
Published in "OCEANIC ART: PROVENANCE AND HISTORY" edited by Michael Hamson, pages 10/11, item 2.