Cult hook figure "yipwon" or "kamanggabi" - Papua New

wood, pigments, base
Amongst the Yimam and Alamblak people, "yipwon" are the major war and hunting deities. "Yipwon" are carved in a wide range of sizes, from about fifteen centimeters up to three meters high.
Intermediate size figures, like the present one, were sometimes taken on raids in the hope that the spirit of the "yipwon" would go ahead of the group and attack the enemy with its magical powers.
H: 51 cm, H: 20,1 inch
Provenance:
Peter Willborg, Stockholm, Sweden
Lit.: Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 234
Condition Report: See description