6
An Early Gope Board
An Early Gope BoardEstimate $15,000 – $20,000
JUMP TO LOT +
OROKOLO BAY, PAPUAN GULF, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
carved wood, coal and lime pigments
HEIGHT: 129CM
Provenance:
Collected by Samuel Pethebridge, Administrator in Papua New Guinea before 1917
Private collection
Headhunting and cannibalism were common rituals in the Gulf of Papua before foreign contact. These rituals included displays of magical powers and the initiation of young men. Gope or spirit boards, made of wood, carved in relief and painted with local dyes of lime and coal, were used to guard uninitiated boys before they moved to the mens haus. These gope were known locally as Kwoi.
CONTACT INFORMATION +