New Guinea Sepik River Valley Carved Figural Gope Shield

Item Details

A carved wooden gope board from the Sepik river valley of New Guinea. This shield features a main field with a traditional face found on masks of the region. This face accented with another, upside down, face on the chin, and a figural animal totem at the top. The shield is painted with black and white and features cowry shells inset in the eyes, around the eyes and at the top of the face like a head band. The gope board serves to enlist ancestors to ward off bad spirits. This piece is unmarked by a maker.

Condition

- splints in the wood, as well as scratches, some of cowry shells are chipped or are missing.

Dimensions

Item #

17BAL044-036