New Guinea find?

I need help with identifying this statue found at a local thrift store. Tikipedia and TikiKate think it might be from New Guinea.

I'm not sure where that statue is from but it is not Tiki. It looks like a variation of the Hindu god Ganesha, maybe the variety often found in Thailand, “Phra Pikanet” or “Phra Phikhanesawora”.

New Guinea figures

Wow! It IS based on a New Guinea figure. I stand corrected.

Some other countries and cultures also use the cowrie shells for the eyes, but it's always a good bet that the carving is a New Guinea one when you find them...

Thanks to everyone for helping me identify this piece.

While doing some research online, I came across a web page about the New Guinea Sculpture Garden at Stanford University. Has anyone been there or know if it's still open? Might make for a fun afternoon.

http://www.stanford.edu/~mjpeters/png/

Here's my entry for it in Critiki:

Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden, Palo Alto

It's still there, and it's very close to the PNG-riffic Palo Alto Trader Vic's. Well worth the visit. I work at Stanford, so if anyone ever wants to meet up there during the day or early evening, it's rather convenient!

Congrats on that piece -- it's a beaut.

Trader Vics, PNG sculpture garden, Happy Donut and Fry's? I'm there!

Thanks for the link. Time to make my way from NM to CA and soak up some Palo Alto goodness.

And you know what's right nextdoor to Happy Donut? L & L Hawaiian Barbecue. Just sayin'.

Honestly, most of the time I think that Palo Alto is kind of a pit, but it does have some redeeming features, for sure.