112 - Significant upper section of an ancestral Yipwon hook

Significant upper section of an ancestral Yipwon hook Wood with a thick brown patina; signs of ritual use. Korewori River region, Papua New Guinea. 176 x 25 cm The broad hooks extend around a vertical axis in an interplay of curves and negative space. The profile of the face, with its bold features, is surmounted by a semicircular protrusion that emphasizes its presence and the graphic tension of the entire piece. The Yipwon were used to house ancestral spirits invoked to aid in hunting and warfare. Kept in men’s ceremonial houses, they received offerings before expeditions. Their reimagined anthropomorphic form features ribs and a central element symbolizing the heart, the vital center of the being it represents. Bibliography: Kaufmann, Christian, *Korewori. Magische Kunst aus dem Regenwald*, Basel, Museum der Kulturen / Christoph Merian Verlag, 2003. Documentary reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Figure (Yipwon), inv. 1978.412.855. Compare this piece for its figurative treatment of the face, the hook at the top, and the arrangement of the two opposing hooks around the central element.