Early 20th century
Wood
128 cm
Provenance
Wayne Heathcote, New York
Douglas Newton Collection, New York
Joel Cooner Collection, Dallas
James Barzyck Collection, Naperville
Exhibitions
Museum of Primitive Art, New York, Ritual Art of the Upper Sepik River, New Guinea, 1969
BRAFA Art Fair, Brussels, 2026
Publications
D. Newton, Crocodile and Cassowary. Religious Art of the Upper Sepik River, New Guinea, Museum of Primitive Art, 1971, p. 26, no. 26
Michael Hamson, Oceanic Art, Paris, 2017, p. 30
Ritual art of the Middle Sepik
Bahinemo ritual sculpture from the Middle Sepik region of Papua New Guinea belongs to one of the most complex systems of Oceanic ceremonial art.
These works are connected to ancestral cults, initiation rituals and the ceremonial life of men’s houses, where sculpture held a spiritual and social function.
Garra: function and meaning
Garra, or gra, are sacred objects not intended to be worn, but conceived as active ritual presences.
They were placed inside ceremonial houses or suspended from structural beams, acting as mediators between the human world and the spirit realm.
Form and symbolism
This Bahinemo hook figure is characterized by elongated forms, pointed projections and dynamic outlines, all distinctive features of Middle Sepik sculpture.
Its structure is not naturalistic, but symbolic, intended to evoke ancestral forces and invisible presences.
Curved forms and zoomorphic appendages often refer to the hornbill, a bird associated with the soul, ancestors and the spiritual dimension in New Guinea traditions.
Technique and materials
These sculptures are generally carved from light wood and decorated with natural pigments, often using a limited but powerful palette.
Unlike many Oceanic masks, garra figures were not worn, emphasizing their role as static ritual presences.
Influence on modern art
During the 20th century, the formal abstraction of Sepik sculpture had a significant impact on modern Western art.
Artists such as Henry Moore recognized in Sepik works a plastic and expressive freedom that moved beyond European figurative conventions.
Context and collecting
Garra figures from the Middle Sepik, particularly those of the Bahinemo, are considered among the most powerful expressions of Oceanic ritual art.
Their formal strength, symbolic complexity and documented collecting history make them highly significant for specialized collections and museum contexts.
Further reading
African and Oceanic art highlights
African and Oceanic art collection archive
African and Oceanic art in Italy
gallery publications
international exhibitions and art Exhibitions
