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Janiform comb, 19th–early 20th century
Wood, ochre, lime; four tines on the left and three on the right have been restored
36 x 9 x 1 cm (14 3/16 x 3 9/16 x 3/8 in.)
Gift of Marcia and John Friede in honor of Diane B. Wilsey and Harry S. Parker III 2007.44.27

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: "Collected by George Craig in the 1960s." (Catalog #491, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 167.) EXHIBITIONS: 2005 - New Guinea Art. Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede. De Young Museum, San Francisco, 2005. PUBLICATIONS: 2009 FAM Bulletin entry (unabridged) - "An Australian businessman and crocodile hunter named George Craig collected this rare anthropomorphic comb in the 1960s. While in the Gulf of Papua he helped revitalize the local woodcarving tradition. (1) Most combs from Kiwai depict animals, cosmic symbols, and totem and tattoo marks, though this one probably represents an ancestor figure with two faces joined back to back on either side of the comb. (2) The stylized figure with its high forehead, teardrop eyes, and elongated linear nose is reminiscent of spirit boards made by the neighboring Kerewa people. The Gulf of Papua is located on the south coast of the island of New Guinea. Heavy rainfall and the many lakes, rivers, and deltas saturate the lowland and nourish mangrove and sago forests. In the villages of Kiwai Island in the Fly River estuary and along the nearby coast of the Papuan Gulf, important Kiwai men and women wore decorated combs in their hair during ceremonies. (3) There are several distinct indigenous ceremonial cycles in the Kiwai region. Moguru centers on initiation, fertility, and war. Mimia is a ceremony reserved for the initiation of males, who fight one another with flaming coconut-leaf torches. (4) Madia involves dancers but no small sculptures like this comb. Other ceremonies such as horiomu and taera may have emerged from interactions with surrounding people and cultures such as the Torres Strait islanders. (5)" FOOTNOTES (1) Robert L. Welsch, Coaxing the Spirits to Dance, (Hanover, NH: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College; Seattle, WA: Distributed by University of Washington, 2006), 92. (2) Gunnar Landtman in John and Marcia Friede, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, exh. cat. (Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2005), 167; Anthony Meyer, Oceanic Art, (Köln: Konemann, 1995), 95. (3) Meyer, Oceanic Art, 95. (4) Douglas Newton, Art Styles of the Papuan Gulf, (New York: University Publishers, Inc., 1961), 10. (5) Douglas Ferrar Fraser, Torres Strait Sculpture: A Study in Oceanic Primitive Art (New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1978), 172-173. 2005 - "Anthropomorphic Kiwai combs are rarely found in the published literature, but for a related comb with a half-figure from the Bamu River area, see Meyer, 1995, fig. 95; see also pl. 481. The aesthetic quality of this comb appears to be exceptional when compared with several collected by Gunnar Landtman (1933: 85, pl. ix, figs. 148-58) between 1910-12. These combs depict various motifs, including animals, cosmic symbols, and "totem and tattoo marks." (Catalog #491, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 167.)

Related Keywords
Janiform III Parker S Harry Wilsey B Diane honor Gift 167 p 2 Volume 2005 Friede John Marcia Jolika Masterpieces Art 491 Catalog 1960s Craig George by Collected speakers language southern people Oceania Province Western Guinea New Implement Tool restored been right three left tines four lime ochre Wood comb side either back joined faces two figure ancestor an represents one this though marks tattoo totem symbols cosmic animals depict Kiwai combs 0709200406050190 A361019 2007.44.27 AOA