Lot n° 239
Estimation :
2000 - 3000
EUR
CEREMONIAL FLUTE. Stylistic area of the middle Sepik. Iatmul - Lot 239
CEREMONIAL FLUTE. Stylistic area of the middle Sepik. Iatmul people. Sepik river. Papua New Guinea. Melanesia. Presumed 20th century. Wood, bamboo, basketry, cassowary feathers. Former collection Claude Berge (Famous mathematician and collector of Oceanian art). This beautiful ceremonial flute with the effigy of the mythical crocodile is linked to the initiation of the "Crocodile Men". This is an extremely painful ordeal for the initiate, who has hundreds of marks made by scarification, evoking the marks left by the sharp teeth of the mother crocodile's jaws, making this hero look like the reptile. Man is thus reborn from the mouth of the mythical animal. He can thus access the secrets of the clan's history. He can evolve towards the great House of Men and becomes able to marry and have children. The sound of the flute, which is the voice of the crocodile spirit, accompanies the whole ceremony. It is a taboo object kept secret and unfit for women to see. It is played behind fences. A hole dug in the carved crocodile-shaped cap was used to keep a piece of charcoal used for the scarification in relief. This piece of burnt wood links the instrument to the spirit of the crocodile and to the ancestral ritual. The sculptural style is dynamic and playful.
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