Post #662728 by Mr. NoNaMe on Mon, Dec 31, 2012 7:36 AM

On 2012-12-30 19:55, Dagg wrote:
help a newbie out :) (again)

Tiki?

The piece on the left is possibly from the Asmat tribe of Papua (Dutch New Guinea or Irian Jaya) on the western half of New Guinea. Is it a vessel/bowl?
The piece on the right appears to be from Papua. More likely made further west into Indonesia for the tourist trade. The motifs on the front are very Asmat.
Typically, the western side of the island of New Guinea (Papua) makes more humanoid looking carvings. Whereas the eastern side (Papua New Guinea) makes more stylized and zoomorphic carvings.
The more humanoid the carving is the less tiki it would be considered. I would absolutely get the carving on the left because of how old it is even if it isn't considered tiki by some. It would fit in very well in a tiki bar. Or my collection. :)
Edit: This is an uneducated answer :lol: as I sit in front of one of my Tangaroa.
Edit2: And now I am changing my mind about the guy on the left. It could be from the Sepik Region on the Papua New Guinea side.

Viva Kate!

[ Edited by: Mr. NoNaMe 2012-12-31 08:21 ]

[ Edited by: Mr. NoNaMe 2012-12-31 15:59 ]