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Figure, maro
East Sepik Province
17th-19th century
Wood
H. 109 cm, W. 17 cm
TC 346

This abstract figure is thought to be a support for an ancestor's skull. Little is known about these figures called maro, or the rituals practiced to conicide with their display in the men's house. The oval 'spoon' area, that when empty also suggests a face, held an overmodeled and decorated skull. (Meyer 2006) A carbon 14 test gives a mean date of 1750 AD (earliest date 1646 AD, latest date 1820 AD)

Provenance:
Galerie Dierk Dierking, Cologne 2006
Alfred Weissnegger, Austria c1995
Anthony J.P.Meyer, 1985-86
Ed Boylan, Cairns
Undetermined collector Papua New Guinea

Publishing History:
illus: Anthony J.P. Meyer. Oceanic Art. Köln. Könemann Verlag 1995: 201 (fig. 208).
illus: Anthony J.P. Meyer. Art de l' Oceanie, Une Exposition 14 Juin - 1 Octobre 1988. Paris. Galerie Meyer 1988:12-13, (fig.1).