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Naturalistic rendering of a crocodile head with some inscribed details including eye and teeth. Wood shows considerable weathering.
Canoe Prow
Courtesy of the Harn Museum of Art, Photography by Foad Seyed Mohammadi

Canoe Prow

Maker Sepik River (Papua New Guinea)
Date20th century
MediumWood
Dimensions6 1/2 x 6 in. (16.5 x 15.2 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of the C. Frederick and Aase B. Thompson Foundation
Object number2009.12.18
Collections
Visual DescriptionNaturalistic rendering of a crocodile head with some inscribed details including eye and teeth. Wood shows considerable weathering.
Solid wood tapered carving of crocodile head with boar snout and teeth. Features are eyes, snout, teeth, ears. Behind head is carved handle shape. On either side of prow is traditional Sepik carved designs. Under one eye - 2 carved symbol - one star shaped, other oval.
Canoe Prow
Iatmul
20th century
Plaited fiber scalloped oval attached to 2 bands or handles of plaited raffia. Extension decorated with numerous half cowries in a geometric design large square with V-shape extensions. Cut wood on either side of square.
Armband
New Guinean, Sepik River
20th century
Large Dance Mask
Large Dance Mask
New Guinean, Blackwater River, Sepik
20th century
Multi-length brownish feathers secured to thin bamboo handle with twine. A reddish glue is apparent underneath feathers.
Feather whisk
New Guinean, Sepik River
last half 20th century
Rectangular sheet with orange, black and white painted meander pattern.
Barkcloth (tapa)
Sepik River
20th century
Canoe prow
Canoe prow
New Guinean, Trobriand Islands, Massim area
20th century
Carved wood face with extended brow, large nose, conical eyes and crescent mouth atop post. Back of head has hooks on spines reminiscent of crocodile spines. High forehead topped with small knot and V.
Head for Yena Ceremony (yena masiik)
Kwoma
20th century
Headband
Headband
New Guinean, Middle or Lower Sepik
20th century
Ruff of feathers secured with twine.
Cassowary Headdress
New Guinean, Middle or Lower Sepik
last half 20th century
Rectangular field, with appliqués images, both sides, of crocodile (black) and birds (blue and black); crabs? (pink) and a circular pool with 5 fish (yellow, red and orange on black field); some embroidered details; Union Jack in upper left corner, border of black and red checkerboard, fringed in white on three sides, sleeve on left side, white fabric.
Asafo Company Flag with Crocodile (frankaa)
Fante Artist
after 1950
Wooden helmet mask with naturalist human features, human hair applied to scalp which is also embedded with plastic or vinyl strips in red and green- arc, spiral double bars designs; black pigment applied to face, eroded in areas. Teeth are made of pointed strips of wood, some missing. Cracks and fragile area on right of neck; traces of applied substances on face, probably beeswax fashioned into strips to resemble scarification patterns.
Mask (n'dimu or lipiko)
Makonde Artist
mid-late 20th century
Woven basketry cone shaped from topped with traditional Sepik human head made of clay and painted designs. Large shell eyes, typical nose and protruding tongue. Hair beard. Face encircled in shells, embedded with clay. On basketry torso is the "dual" ancestor's face mocking the larger predominate face. Raffia fringe extends from bottom. Handle on side and back. Wood plug earring. Raffia fringe covers armholes inside. Striped design in red, black and yellow.
Dual ancestral costume
Iatmul
20th century

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