Bioma are flat figurative carvings related to hunting and ancestral beings. They were often displayed in conjunction with crocodile and pig skulls in men's longhouses. Typically these two-dimensional figures have defined, upraised limbs incorporated into the symmetrical design of the entire form. They are often carved from parts of discarded canoes and sometimes have a slight curve to the entire figure. This bioma was collected by the Swiss ethnologist Paul Wirz in 1930.

Provenance:
Sotheby's Paris, December 5, 2003
Peter Schnell
Maria Wyss, Basel, 1972
Collected by Paul Wirz, 1930

Publishing History:
Robert Welsch, Virginia-Lee Webb, Sebastian Haraha. Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art and Society in the Papuan Gulf. New Hampshire, Hood Museum of Art, 2006:70 (Fig. 116).

Exhibition History:
Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art of the Papuan Gulf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York October 24, 2006 - December 2, 2007.