Crochet porte-crânes agiba, Kerewa, Golfe de Papouasie, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée

Acquis in situ par Dick Randolph, en 1961
Collection George Craig, Australie, ca. 1970
Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes Estates
Collection privée, New York, acquis en 2006

Hamson, Aesthetics of Integrity, 2007, p. 50-51

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La remarquable dynamique des formes s’accorde ici à une anatomie réinventée, dictée par la fonction de l'agiba. Tandis que la construction en deux dimensions concentre l’attention sur le visage, l'abstraction graphique du corps - articulé autour des « jambes »/crochets de suspension - est accentuée par la beauté du décor pictural. S'impose dans un même temps la très grande ancienneté de l'œuvre, dont attestent l’épaisseur de la planche, la profondeur de la gravure et la patine sombre et grumeleuse, signe de sa longue utilisation. Il se distingue enfin par le très rare détail de la délicate gravure exécutée au revers qui, associé au trou de suspension, évoque un visage stylisé.

Les agiba, représentations d’esprits importants associés à la chasse et à la guerre, étaient des propriétés claniques conservées dans la maison cérémonielle des hommes (dubu daima). Souvent conservés par paire, ils servaient à accrocher des crânes humains – trophées de guerre ou reliques ancestrales - suspendus par un lien de roseau. « La figure représentait un esprit qui s’était révélé au sculpteur lors d’un rêve. Cet esprit était certainement un des imunu associés au clan, et peut-être même celui d’un ancêtre primordial » (Kjellgren, Oceania : Art of the Pacific Islands in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007, p. 123).

Agiba skull rack, Kerewa, Papuan Gulf, Papua New Guinea

The remarkable dynamic of the forms is consistent with a reinvented anatomy, dictated by the agiba's function. Whilst the two-dimensional structure focuses attention on the face, the graphic abstraction of the body - built around the "legs" / suspension hooks - is accentuated by the beauty of the pictorial decoration. The great antiquity of the piece strikes the eye at the same time, as evidenced by the thickness of the board, the depth of engraving and the dark, gritty patina, a sign of its long use. The very rare detail of the delicate engraving on its back makes it unique and in conjunction with the suspension hole, evokes an enigmatic face.

The agiba, representations of important spirits associated with hunting and war, were clan properties kept in the ceremonial men's house (dubu daima). Often kept in pairs, they were used to hang human skulls - war trophies or ancestral relics - suspended from a section of reed. "The image reportedly represented a spirit who revealed itself to the carver in a dream. This spirit would almost certainly have been one of the numerous imunu associated with the individual clan and possibly that of a primordial clan ancestor" (Kjellgren, Oceania: Art of the Pacific Islands in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007, p. 123).