Figure (agiba)
- Culture
- Kerewa artist
- Date
- 19th century or earlier
- Material
- Wood, pigment
- from
- Gulf province, Papua New Guinea, Oceania
- Classification
- Sculpture, wood
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 107
- Dimensions
- 26 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (67.9 x 31.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 123:1975
NOTES
This two-dimensional abstraction of the human figure represents an important spirit associated with hunting and warfare. Family groups owned sculptures such as this, called "agiba," and displayed them on platforms set inside men’s ceremonial houses. Agiba were reportedly made by senior initiated men who had successfully participated in a raid. Skulls were attached to or placed near agiba. While some of these skulls were ancestral remains, others were trophies, until the late 19th century when colonial governments suppressed warfare and headhunting. Men presented offerings before the agiba when seeking the assistance of the ancestors for war expeditions or when planting crops.
Provenance
1961 -
Collected by Roy James Hedlund (1939–2020), Papua New Guinea [1]
- 1963
Carlebach Gallery, Inc., New York, NY, USA
1963 - 1975
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Carlebach Gallery, Inc. [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] This object was photographed in a clearing in Papua New Guinea by Roy James Hedlund in October 1961 (PSC 1961.1.125, The Photograph Study Collection, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Hedlund visited the area and collected during the early 1960s. In an email dated November 30, 2005 from Virginia-Lee Webb to Michael Gunn of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Webb stated this object was "photographed / collected in 1961 by Roy [James] Hedlund [SLAM document files].
[2] An invoice dated June 11, 1963 from Carlebach Gallery, Inc. to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "SP7 Ancient Agiba, Kerewa Tribe, old" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.
Collected by Roy James Hedlund (1939–2020), Papua New Guinea [1]
- 1963
Carlebach Gallery, Inc., New York, NY, USA
1963 - 1975
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Carlebach Gallery, Inc. [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] This object was photographed in a clearing in Papua New Guinea by Roy James Hedlund in October 1961 (PSC 1961.1.125, The Photograph Study Collection, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Hedlund visited the area and collected during the early 1960s. In an email dated November 30, 2005 from Virginia-Lee Webb to Michael Gunn of the Saint Louis Art Museum, Webb stated this object was "photographed / collected in 1961 by Roy [James] Hedlund [SLAM document files].
[2] An invoice dated June 11, 1963 from Carlebach Gallery, Inc. to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "SP7 Ancient Agiba, Kerewa Tribe, old" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.