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Lime tube finial, C-14 dating: 1490–1660 (95.4% probability)
Wood, pigment, Nassa and pearl shell
40 x 6 x 4 cm (15 3/4 x 2 3/8 x 1 9/16 in.)
The Marcia and John Friede Collection, a Promised Gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco L05.1.41

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: "Louis Carré Collection, Paris; Max Itzikovitz Collection, Paris." (Catalog #188, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 113.) PUBLICATIONS: 2005 - "I believe that the meaning of the images on this carving can be speculatively analyzed as follows: the bird, a hornbill, is known to be the symbolic carrier of the spirits of the deceased to the land of the dead. See pl. 176. The animal's stomach appears to be a mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri), a fish, which forages out of the water at the edge of the sea, but which dives into its watery hole when threatened. A tradition in the Sepik, reported by Tuzin (1997: 108) and others, is that the spirits of the dead reside in watery holes. In Tuzin's account of Arapesh beliefs, they dwell in water-filled ground crab holes in the bush. Thus, if the mudskipper is a metaphor for the spirit of a deceased person, the carving may be a representation of death, rebirth, and the promise of immortality. A related by cruder object in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin, was collected in Kaulagu village, near Yentchanmangua village, in 1912-13 on the Kaiserin-Augusta River Expedition. At the time of exploration, Kaulagu was located on the south bank of the Sepik River, opposite Yentchanmangua, but it does not exist anymore. It is published in Kelm, 1966, vol. 1, fig. 434. See also fig. 436 for a comparable piece crowning a lime container. Another example is in the Honolulu Academy of Arts (Wardell, 1971, fig. 126)." (Catalog #188, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 113.)

Related Keywords
finial tube Lime Francisco San Museums Arts Fine Gift Promised 113 p 2 Volume 2005 Friede John Marcia Jolika Masterpieces Art 188 Catalog Itzikovitz Max Paris Carr* Louis people Iatmul western village Kaulagu Oceania Province Sepik East Guinea New Papua Melanesia Implement Tool shell pearl Nassa pigment wood piece one carving pierced Detailed 0709200406050292 A360956 L05.1.41 AOA