ADJIRAB RELIQUARY FIGURE, PORAPORA RIVER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

maro, decorated with feathers of the northern cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus) and domestic fowl (Gallus gallus). Human remains removed, presumably in situ by the figure's owners before the object was sold.

Collected in situ by Pierre Langlois in the 1960s
Henri Kamer, Paris, acquired from the above
Baudouin de Grunne, Brussels, acquired from the above in 1966
Private Collection, acquired from the above in the 1980s
Jo de Buck, Brussels
Alex Arthur, Brussels, acquired from the above
Marcia and John Friede, New York, acquired from the above in 1998

Vincent Bounoure, "Les Mundugumor ou L'Air des Flûtes", L'Oeil 155, 1967, no. 24
John A. Friede et al. (ed.), New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, San Francisco, 2005, pp. 137 (vol. 1) and 100 (vol. 2), cat. 113

Very good condition for an object of this age, material, and rare type. The clay face affixed to the wooden backing has been opened in situ for the removal of the skull, and is now held in place with wire bindings. Some repaired cracks to clay. Minor hairline cracks to wooden elements. Small chips, nicks and scratches throughout. Feather attachments, necklace and pendant are fragile.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Friede (2005: 100, text to cat. 113) comments: "This is one of the very few complete skull reliquaries from the Adjirab people of the Porapora region.  Such a reliquary (also called a 'spirit figure' and 'skull pole' in the literature), usually contains the skull of an important ancestor." [However, in the case of the present lot the skull remains have been removed, probably upon collection in situ.]

In the following essay, noted scholar Virginia-Lee Webb discusses the historic context of this rare Papuan art from.

Displaying Power: Ancestor Figures from the Porapora Region

This enigmatic figure made by an Adjirab artist from the Porapora River area - a tributary of the lower Sepik River - is an important and exceedingly rare form of sculpture. Its relative human size, the creative carving and assemblage of realistic and abstract elements combine to form an imposing work of art.

The slim silhouette of this elongated sculpture incorporates a powerful combination of characteristics. The figure itself is positioned at the top of a long tapering stake-like post that enabled it to stand upright and unsupported when displayed within one of the inner rooms of a men's house where the most powerful objects were stored. Every men's house might have five to seven of these figures, each one of which was named after an ancestor (Peltier 2005: 69).  

The compact rendering in wood of a male figure is supported by legs sculpted to articulate strong muscular calves and thighs. The torso is represented in a both classic and innovative manner; the width of the chest, arms and distance between them is of equal proportion and parallel. The head is not sculpted figuratively but indicated by a shallow concave oval-shaped receptacle. This shape is obscured in the front and is only apparent from the back view of the figure. A clay face is affixed to the front of the concave space. The face is featureless except for pierced eye holes, its surface smoothed by traditional vegetable oils. The top of the head and chin are decorated with various black avian elements; natural materials (elements of magic) and a shell ornament are attached to the figure, adding to the haunting visual effect. Reliquary statues like the JOLIKA figure are also related to the oval-shaped reliquary plaques with human skulls in the center surrounded by boar tusks and other material, e.g. Friede (2005: cat. 122). Sculpted by Banaro artists in nearby Keram River villages, these reliquaries were decorated with the same diverse materials as the Adjirab figures; they were seen and photographed inside the men's houses by one of the Crane Pacific Expedition's photographers, Murry Fairbank (Shurcliff 1930: 236).  

Our knowledge of these reliquaries is derived from a few sources over a long time span: the first during the German colonial period; then missionaries, anthropologists, and art historians. One figure with a human skull attached in lieu of the clay head was collected by the members of the Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss Expedition between 1908 and 1910 and is today in the collection of the Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg (inv. no. "S6537"). It is described and published in Otto Reche's account of the major German collecting and scientific voyage (Reche 1913: 376, Abb. 399 and 400; Peltier 1999: 51). 

By the late 1920s, Christian missionary stations such as Marienberg were established along the Sepik River and served as bases for many visitors who followed. Despite their goals to ultimately convert the local populations to Christianity and severing the connection to traditional beliefs, the missionaries memorialized the local rituals through photographs, some of which depict the maro figures and related objects in situ. Cf. the images taken in Kambot and Wemtak by Franz Kirschbaum and Georg Höltker SVD (Societas Verbi Divini, aka the Missionaries of Steyl). For further discussion see Höltker 1966: pl. IV, Abb. 7 and pl. V, Abb. 10; Hauser 1989: 354-355; Peltier 1999: 52. Information about another reliquary found in the Porapora region was gathered by missionary Heinrich Lehner. He obtained a clay head with an abstract face which was subsequently acquired by Alfred Bühler for the Museum der Kulturen Basel (inv. no. "Vb14399"). See Huppertz 1977: 214-215, Abb. 2 and 3; Le Fur 1999: 192-193; The Photograph Study Collection, no. "PSC 2007.5.985", The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Lehner also collected several wood figures with skulls now in the collection of the museum Haus Völker und Kulturen, St. Augustin (Huppertz 1977: 215; Peltier 2005: 83, note 17).

According to research among the Adjirab people, each clan possessed several ancestor figures, maro, that were displayed among offerings of animal skulls in the men's house and were presented to the ancestors and initiates during rituals. The related headhunting raids and warfare was the responsibility of a "big man" or man of importance in the clan (Peltier 1999: 52-53). The JOLIKA figure and the related art forms are connected with former warfare-related rituals, prestige, and placating important ancestors.

The JOLIKA figure can be compared to another in the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen (inv. no. "I.3979") with slightly narrower body; inward-turned knees; arms bent at the elbows with hands resting on its chest; and a similar over-modeled, "featureless" clay face with eye holes (The Photograph Study Collection no. "PSC 2007.5.984", The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Other important examples in private collections show the elegant carving style of the unadorned wood figure sculptures, cf. Leigh and Perry 2011: 166, fig. 9:1 and 194, fig. 9:30; Meyer 1995: 201, fig. 208). 

Traditional belief and reverence preserved these sculptures through many intrusive events. Dynamic representations of the human form, they are an embodiment of faith, cultural practice, and superior artistic invention from a time long past.

Virginia-Lee Webb, Ph.D.
New York, April 2011