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Openwork spirit board, Malu, C-14 dating: 1480–1650 (95.4% probability)
Wood, pigment
190.5 x 35.6 x 5.1 cm (75 x 14 x 2 in.)
The Marcia and John Friede Collection, a Promised Gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco L05.1.137

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Artist Biography: (none) PROVENANCE: "Pierre Loeb Collection, Paris." (Catalogue #230, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 119.) EXHIBITIONS: 1979 - Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1979, "L'aventure de Pierre Loeb." PUBLICATIONS: 2005 - "The long-nosed face at the top of the board represents the sago beetle, palanggun. The nose appears to terminate in a pair of bird wings. In the center, a pair of conventionalized birds, probably hornbills, swirl around each other. This design element is common to malu boards, but the exquisitely carved jungle fowl represented in profile below may be unique. A bird seemingly lying on its neck is above the hornbill pair. There are also two small birds in a circle between that bird and the face. The board terminates with two suspension posts near the bottom. (See Newton, 1967 below). The meaning of these design elements is difficult to determine. Almost all of the sparse field information about openwork malu boards was not obtained from the Sawos but from their neighbors, the Iatmul, where they were collected. Moreover, the information was obtained relatively late (see Bateson, 1936). One description of malu board motifs is birds playing in the forest. However, Douglas Newton, in his monograph on these objects, suggests a more serious purpose. He proposes that the malu was originally a cult object, "a rack from which captured heads were hung, functionally akin to the Kerewa agibe" (see pl. 476). Newton continues, "Like the agibe skull holder, it was surmounted by the figure of the archetypal cannibal, with all his power to dispense fertility, decked with head hunting insignia, totemic birds and beasts. These malu are among the most powerful embodiments of this conception from New Guinea, as they are among its most spectacular works of art." (See Newton, 1963: 8.)" (Catalogue #230, New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, Volume 2, p. 119.) 1979 - Musée d'Art Moderne, 1979, pl. 217. 1930 - Portier and Poncetton, Paris, 1930: 144a.

Related Keywords
Malu board spirit Openwork Francisco San Museums Arts Fine Gift Promised 119 p 2 Volume 2005 Friede John Marcia Jolika Masterpieces Art 230 Catalogue Paris Loeb Pierre people Sawos Oceania Province Sepik East Guinea New Papua Melanesia object Ritual pigment Wood 0709200406050540 A361052 L05.1.137 AOA