Nukuma Male Figure, Washkuk Hills, Upper Sepik River, Papua New Guinea

height 70in (178cm)

Provenance
John Pasquarelli, collected in Ablatak, New Guinea in 1962
Sotheby's, New York, 14 May 2004, Lot 8
Canadian Private Collection

Born in 1937 in Australia, Pasquarelli became a cadet patrol officer in Papua New Guinea in 1961. He resigned in 1962 to become a crocodile marksman and field collector. He donated many works to the Papua New Guinea Museum and others found their way into other institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Basel Museum of Culture.

The viewer's attention of this impressive male figure is instantly drawn to its imposing oval head with large forehead above prominent facial features protruding from a flat facial plane, including a set of eyes that transfix you. This type of head is more typically seen on yina figures with large heads and a single columnar support in the back (Cf. Newton, Douglas, Crocodile and Cassowary, The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1971, f. 148). Here, the head is supported by a standing male figure with attenuated features overall; fine dark brown/black patina with red, white and black pigment highlights; wear and signs of age to the wood indicative of much age and cultural use.