Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Trobriand Islands, Massim, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A beautiful pair of Massim canoe prows or splash boards - a bow element also called a foam guard or lagims - finely carved from a single piece of wood and embellished with a central anthropomorphic figure and twin outfacing birds with curved beaks that form the upper terminal. Adding further interest are the intertwining curvilinear and abstract geometric motifs that are further enhanced with a polychrome program of rich sky blue and creamy white hues. Size (of largest, both roughly the same): 18" W x 35" H (45.7 cm x 88.9 cm); 38.5" H (97.8 cm) on included custom stand.

According to Sergio Jarillo de la Torre (Sylvan C. Coleman and Pam Coleman Memorial Fund Fellow, 2017) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Canoe splashboards are carved throughout the Massim in distinctive regional styles. They are material repositories of esoteric cognition that incorporate key elements of an otherwise-oral, immaterial system of knowledge. Canoe and splashboard master carvers are initiated into a highly specialized and ritualized apprenticeship at a very early age. The apprenticeship lasts many years and includes learning magic spells and incantations, imbibing substances, as well as adhering to a very rigorous system of taboos that need to be observed in order to carve beautiful and efficacious splashboards (the two qualities being synonymous in Massim culture). Traditional master carvers are not allowed to do preparatory drawing on the wooden board they are to carve but need to incise the piece directly, using small pocket knives and repurposed pieces of iron. Canoe carvers are highly regarded within their communities, bringing together the embedded cognition of their manual skills, a sense of artistry and a deep knowledge of their own culture."

Provenance: ex-New Orleans Auction Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

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#164169

Wider board has minor stable fissure to top. Both have chipping to paint as well as expected surface wear with nicks and abrasions throughout, commensurate with age and use. Otherwise, both are very nice with impressive remaining pigments.