Wogamush Fighting Dagger

A very fine decorated fighting dagger. The incised ornementation represents an extreme stylization of the yam plant. The finial is carved to represent a stylized head of an zoomorphic being with protruding eyes. Wogamush, Iwam area, Upper Sepik, PNG, Melanesia. Cassowary bone with a fine patina of age and usage. 37 cm. 19th/20th century.

 

Provenance Ex Dutch colonial collection, the Netherlands. Ex coll. Maurice Stevens, Rotterdam.