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Male figure, Aripa, C-14 dating: 1480–1670 (95.4% probability)
Wood, encrusted pigment, minor restoration on top
172.7 cm (68 in.)
The Marcia and John Friede Collection, a Promised Gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco L05.1.21

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: "Philip Goldman Collection, London; William Rubin Collection, New York." (Catalog #269, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 125.) PUBLICATIONS: 2005 - "A fascinating aspect of Ewa carvings is that most of the male and female figures, both called aripa, are totally different in concept. The male aripa is generally conceived laterally and possesses one leg. The females are conceived frontally and have two legs, as in the next object. This exceptionally carved male figure, thought to be one of the best in existence, probably played a crucial role in hunting and its magic. Particularly in terms of its strongly curled and dentated interior parts, it relates to a few examples in Kaufmann, 2003 (figs. 24, 29, 35). This motif is interpreted as the 'heart-lung complex, yamali' (ibid., 53, fig. 70). Like all the Ewa carvings in the collection, it was preserved in caves for hundreds of years (see also the previous object). The largest collection of Ewa sculptures can be found at the Museum der Kulturen, Basel. A smaller but important collection is in the Haus der Volker und Kulturen (Museum of the SVD Mission) at St. Augustin, near Bonn. See Kaufmann, 2003 for an overview of the Basel collection backed up by first-hand accounts obtained through field research in the 1960s and 1970s; see Altman, 1967, figs. 125-33 for several other examples. See also Smidt, 1990: 296-98, cat. 112, for a summary description of the available information of such figures." (Catalog #269, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 125.) 1981 - Bodrogi, 1981, vol. 1, no. 64.

Related Keywords
Aripa figure Male Francisco San Museums Arts Fine Gift Promised 125 p 2 Volume 2005 Friede John Marcia Jolika Masterpieces Art 269 Catalog York Rubin William London Goldman Philip people Ewa Oceania Province Sepik East Guinea New Papua Melanesia Sculpture top restoration minor pigment encrusted 10 3 LBone correct description this twist S due depth 8 twisted therfore thin Very wood piece one Carved 0709200406050485 A360936 L05.1.21 AOA