Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes Estates 2008
Private collections, California 1976

Provenance:
Spirit boards, called titi ebiha in this area of the Papuan Gulf, were carved from old canoes and paddles. This example, made from the latter, has a classic symmetrical design with elegant curvilinear forms. The dancing figure motif suggests that the carving was made on Goaribari Island. In January 1923, Frank Hurley visited Goaribari and photographed large decorated canoes and Kerewa men with paddles.