114 - Malagan figure

Malagan figure with a surrealist composition Lightweight polychrome wood, eyes inlaid with Turbo petholatus shell, original patina and signs of wear, retouching of the polychrome. New Ireland, Papua New Guinea H: 69 cm Punctuated by black, white, ochre, and red, this sculpture displays a composition of great freedom. The figure holds a stylized fish in its hands, the head of which rests at the center of its mouth. A second fish, at the top, descends toward the center of the forehead, between two long spikes that crown the figure. In the lower section, a shape reminiscent of a manta ray’s head extends the composition, above the tenon that would have been used to secure it to a structure. This dual movement gives the work its symbolic power: one of the fish rises toward the mouth, evoking the nourishing sea, while the other descends toward the forehead, as if to signify the figure’s connection to the divine world. Malagan sculptures, unique to northern New Ireland, were created for major commemorative festivals organized by clans in honor of their deceased. Displayed in a specially constructed enclosure, they were visible only for a short time, after which they were abandoned or given away. General Bibliography: Augustin Krämer, *Die Málanggane von Tombára*, Munich, Georg Müller, 1925. Michael Gunn and Philippe Peltier (eds.), *New Ireland: Arts of the South Pacific*, Paris, Musée du Quai Branly / Somogy, 2006.