Male Figure (aripa)

Culture: Inyai-Ewa artist
Date: 19th to mid-20th century
Material: Wood, mineral deposits
from: East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea, Oceania
Classification: Sculpture, wood
Collection: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Current Location: On View, Gallery 107
Dimensions: 55 x 8 7/16 x 2 3/16 in. (139.7 x 21.4 x 5.6 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Morton D. May
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 147:1975

NOTES

This male figure reveals itself slowly. Observed from its front, a face is positioned atop a narrow length of wood. However, when seen in profile, the sculpture’s complex elements representing torso sections and legs emerge in sharp, undulating volumes. Associated with hunting rituals, figures such as this were considered portraits of a named spirit. These spirits served as guardians of specific areas and the game living there. Each hunter possessed an established relationship with the spirit residing in a figure. Before their hunt, a hunter would present offerings to the spirit under the rocky overhang where the sculpture stood.

Provenance

- 1967
D'Arcy Galleries, New York, NY, USA

1967 - 1975
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from D'Arcy Galleries [1]

1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]

Notes:
[1] An invoice dated May 5, 1967 from D'Arcy Galleries to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "#830 Cult figure, wood, deeply weathered surface / *from a cave in the Tangermas River area / New Guinea, Upper Karawari / 55" high / - has stand" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].

[2] A letter dated August 14, 1975 from Morton D. May to Mary-Edgar Patton, acting director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 6, 1975.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.