Body Ornaments

Melanesian artifacts from Papua New Guinea can be grouped into several major categories and we have provided below an overview of the major categories that we have used to enable you to easily locate the items that you may be interested in.

When you have identified the groups that interest you then you can go to those categories where you will find galleries of photographs of artifacts either currently in stock or examples of artifacts that we are able to obtain. Photographs with the prefix STK identify items currently available ex stock and items with the prefix EXM are samples of items that we can obtain.

Not all of the artifacts available in Papua New Guinea are on display in this site. If you can't identify or locate what you are looking for then please contact us with your specific requirements and we will advise if we are in a position to assist you.

BASKETRY, TRAYS, BILUMS & FIGURES.  
  • Trays and baskets made from woven cane from the Southern Highlands and Bougainville are popular additions to dinner tables and room features.
  • String bags, known as Bilums,come in a range of sizes and made from natural fibres or multi-coloured string.
  • Duti Warriors and assorted figures made from kunda (cane) are very decorative.

 

BOARDS, PROWS & TAUPA CLOTH.

 

 

 

  • Taupa or bark paintings depict ancestorial stories about "good" and "evil" spirits.
  • Story boards are carved wooden boards depicting everyday village life with spirit figures shown on the men's house gables.
  • Prows and Splashboards from traditional canoes have intricate carvings of spirits for safe travelling and successful fishing.
  • House Boards are decorative wooden boards found on Haus Tamborans.

 

BOWLS

 

 

 

  • Decorative Trobriand bowls carved from Kwila, Rosewood or Ebony wood with Mother of Pearl inlay.
  • Tami decorative or functional wooden and coconut wood bowls.
  • Siassi Bridal bowls.

 

FIGURES

 

  • Ancestral figures mainly from the Sepik regions.
  • Spirit figures from the Ramu region and Trobriand Islands.

 

HOOKS, SKULL RACKS & FOOD HOOKS  

  • Cult Hooks are suspended in the men's house to represent spirits who helped in fighting, hunting, and warding off disease.
  • Skull hooks origionally had skulls hung on the ends to ward off opposing clans.
  • Food hooks are used to hang food from the rafters and keep away from vermin.

 

INSTRUMENTS  

 

 

 

MASKS  

 

 

 

 

ORNAMENTS  

 

 

 

 

POTTERY  

 

 

 

 

SHIELDS  

  • Shields come in all shapes and sizes, some made of hide stretched over a framework are used mainly to deflect arrows. Others, large and cumbersome, may be over two metres tall and a metre or so wide.
  • Some rectangular, some circular, others more irregular shapes, they can be carved in reliefs or painted with dyes and ochres.
  • Not only is a shield a means of physical defence, it can be regarded also as a sacred object of spiritual significance. Faces on them, for instance, represent clan spirits associated mystically with their bearers who are protected by them.

 

TABLES  

 

 

 

TOOLS

 

 

 

WEAPONS  

 

 

Body Art  
 

 

For further Enquiries, please email melanesian.arts@global.net.pg

 

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