A New Hanover spear St Matthias Islands

A New Hanover spear

St Matthias Islands, Papua New Guinea

wood with pointed ends, the black shaft with red coiled lines and a swollen section with barbs and carved zig-zag panels and circles, with a red pigment, to a further swollen ovoid to the remainder of the shaft with incised lines to take binding, 19th / early 20th century,

284cm long.

Provenance

London Art Market, 1920's/30's and thence by descent.

cf. Anthony JP Meyer, Oceanic Art, 1995, p.341, pl.373.