20th C. Papua New Guinea Carved Wooden Lime Stick

**Originally Listed At $150**

Papua New Guinea, Sepik River region, ca. 20th century CE. A finely-detailed wooden ancestral face connected to a lengthy spike. The face has a chalky white ground on which dark-gray and black details are applied, with a jutting chin, thin lips, and a prominent perforated nose with a knotted string through it. The spike itself, known as a lime stick, is an important tool used in the Guinea tradition of chewing betel nuts. These sticks are utilized to extract seeds from the betel nut palm tree. Comes with custom wooden stand. Size: 14.625" H (37.1 cm); 15" H (38.1 cm) on included custom stand, though part of spike slots into stand.

Provenance: ex-private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection; ex-Ron Perry collection; Ron Perry collected art and artifacts for more than 40 years in New Guinea and the South Pacific. He collaborated with Carolyn Leigh to write a book entitled, "Art Dealer in the Last Unknown: Ron Perry & New Guinea Art: the early years 1964-1972" (2011)

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#129975
Condition Report: Age-commensurate surface wear, small chips to tip of spike, fading to pigmentation, otherwise intact and very good.