Full details of each lot are displayed, except the lot number, estimate and price. You must be a subscriber to view lot numbers, estimates and prices.
Yina figure, Warsei area, upper Sepik,Papua New Guinea, the…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
8-May-2016
Lot No.
***
Description:
Yina figure, Warsei area, upper Sepik,Papua New Guinea, the Warsei area's Yina ceremonial figures are slightly different from the more well-known Kwoma pieces. The face with the long nose is attached to the forehead, it includes rounded protruding eyes and a large protruding mouth painted in bright colours. Yina is the first of the yam harvest ceremonies. The head is greatly enlarged with a prominent nose, disembodied and with a long pointed shaft. The most striking feature of the face is the nose, a common Sepik symbol of the phallus. The eyes more subtly represent the testicles. The shaft is associated with the yam digging stick, a tool used to from hotels for the yam planting. There is an obvious phallic and fertility symbol of the shaft (male) being thrust into the earth (female). Though strong symbols of maleness permeate the sculptural form, the Yina can be designated either male or female. Yina represent spirits known as sikilawos, which have great power and are responsible for the continuing fertility of the yam gardens. For the annual ceremony both old & new are freshly painted. They are firstly covered in black paint and left to dry. Only on the final day before the ceremony are the other colours, red, yellow and white added, References, Bowden, Ross - Yena: Art & Ceremony in a Sepik Society Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford 1983, Newton, Douglas - crocodile & Cassowary Museum of Primitive Art, NY. Wardwell, Allen - Island Ancestors Oceanic Art form the Masco collection University of Washington press 1994. Provenance: Todd Barlin collection. 105 cm
Estimate:
***
Price:
***
Category:
Unclassified