SUPERIOR ASMAT BIS POLE. CIRCA 1950
NEW GUINEA – ASMAT ANCESTRAL POLE (BIS)
19 Feet and 1 Inch long. AGATS – ASMAT – LEGAL DOCUMENT
THIS EXTRAORDINARY CARVING RIVALS THE BEST OF THE BIS POLES WHICH MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER FIELD COLLECTED FOR THE MUSEUM OF PRIMITIVE ART IN NEW YORK IN 1961.
Carved From A Single Mangrove Tree (Used Upside Down).
The Bottom Part Represents A Dug Out Canoe And The Rest Of The Carved Pole Represents The Oversized Canoe Prow.
There Are 5 Ancestors Carved On This Pole Who Were To Be Revenged By At Least One Enemy Head Each. (This Is A Revenge Pole)
The Protruding Wing On Top Has 6 Heads Carved On Each Side. It Is Believed That The Male Ancestor Had 12 Heads To His Credit During His Lifetime. The Woman Below Is Holding A Basket With A Fish Being Snatched By A Shark, Probably Relating To An Incident During Her Lifetime.
There Are Different Birds Interwoven In The Carving (Some Very Stylized). They Are Head Hunters Symbols. The Carving On The Outside Of The “Canoe” Part Represents Human Figures Recognizable By The Little Pairs Of Feet.
This Asmat Pole Is Part Three Dimensional And Part Two Dimensional.
The White Paint Is Lime Made From Crushed Shells, The Black Is Charcoal And Red Is Extracted From A Tree. Two Of The Figures Have Seed Inlaid Eyes. The Twisted Fibre Decorations Are From Sago Palm Leaf.
After The Elaborate Pole Selecting, Carving, And Raising Ceremonies Are Completed, The Bis Usually Gets Stored In The Yeu Ceremonial House (As They Did In This Case).
Since The Mangrove Is A Swamp Tree, The Wood Cracks As Soon As It Dries. Note The Cracks On The Front, They Are Larger On The Other Side, However They Are A Natural Feature Of A Bis Poie.
This Extraordinary Carving Rivals The Best Of The Bis Poles Which
Michael Rockefeller Field Collected For The Museum Of Primitive Art In
New York In 1961.
Their Largest Bis Pole Is 19 feet And 1 inch, 5,88 Meter Exactly As Long As This One.
