Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Stylized Bird Carving

Preview image of work. polychromed wood , Stylized Bird Carving 602

1898.75

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Stylized Bird Carving

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Artist

Artist Unidentified

Title

Stylized Bird Carving

Creation Date

1800-1900

Century

19th century

Dimensions

14 3/4 in. (37.46 cm.)

Classification

Sculpture

Creation Place

Oceania or Australasia, Papua New Guinea, New Ireland

Medium and Support

polychromed wood

Credit Line

Gift of Harold M. Sewall

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1898.75

This painted wooden carving of a bird-like creature is an ornamental mouthpiece, often fitted in a mask during ritual dances in traditional cultural practices from the New Ireland province in Papua New Guinea. Such bird figures are consistently featured in the carved objects used in malanggan, communal ceremonies for a variety of social and spiritual events, such as death, adulthood, and transfers of property and status. These carvings are broadly regarded by people of New Ireland as powerful and even dangerous objects.

Additional Media

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