ASMAT, Basim village, Casaruina Coast, Indonesia. Wood, pigments, fibers. Large rectangular "Yimbes" shield used for headhunting and self-defense. It is richly carved in champlevé with stylized symbolic motifs (bats, praying mantises...) and carved at the top with an ancestral head in high relief. Height: 151 cm. Width: 42 cm. Literary reference: For similar sculptures, see "Asmat Art" wood carving of southwest new guinea. Edited by Dirk Smidt. Provenance: Private collection of the former Parisian gallery owner FRANKA BERNDT.

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