Papua New Guinea, Goaribari Island. The U-shaped wood board with a central anthropomorphic figure carved in relief, with large circular eyes centered by a long nose above an open mouth framed by sawtooth, the stylized body with spread feet and raised hands, and framed by curved lines.

Provenance: From a private collection in the United States, by repute formerly in the collection of Georg Höltker or a close contemporary within the Society of the Divine Word, a missionary group that operated in Papua during the early to mid-20th century and still maintains a presence there today. Georg Höltker (1895-1976) was a German Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and ethnologist. After WWI, he joined the Society of the Divine Word and completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Missionary Major Seminary, near Vienna, Austria. During this period, he developed a keen interest in ethnology, publishing a study on African shields. In 1936, he embarked on a mission to New Guinea, working closely with local missionaries for three years. Shortly before World War II, he returned to the Anthropos Institute in Posieux, Switzerland, dedicating himself to publishing his research. His contributions to ethnology, particularly his work in New Guinea, have been recognized in various publications. The Society of the Divine Word and Höltker are closely connected with numerous ethnographic artefacts from New Guinea, which can be found in museums and private collections in Europe and the United States.
Condition: Very good condition with expected old wear, weathering, few light surface scratches and nicks, minuscule losses, fine natural age cracks, remnants of ancient pigment. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 2.9 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 67.1 cm (excl. stand), 72.5 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on a modern metal stand. (1)

The residents of Goaribari Island and Kerewa communities made and used Spirit Boards differently than other Papuan Gulf societies. Throughout the Gulf these sculptures were generically called Gope, but in the western Kerewa speaking areas, as in Urama, the people called the boards titi ébiha which means “design of the crocodile spirit.” (Robert L. Welsch, Virginia-Lee Webb, and Sebastian Haraha, Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art and Society in the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2006, p. 36). According to the ethnologist Paul Wirz who visited there in 1930, “Ébiha means crocodile, but in reality, it is a representation of a monster with which we are dealing […] Ébiha can also be a snake or some evil animal, a fabulous creature, a monstrosity or monster, some animal which in the world does not exist. Titi ébiha is a carved or painted ébiha (titi = ornament, carving, painting.) ” (P. Wirz, The Kaiamunu- Ebiha-Gi Cult in the Delta region and Western Division of Papua. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland vol. 67, 1937, p. 409). Robert Welsch, who conducted research in the area, notes that Wirz “anticipated much more recent informants at Goaribari who [told Welsch] that the boards were wrapped up and concealed in the rafters.” (Welsch, 2006, p. 39). This would certainly explain the absence of them on in situ photographs.

Early inventory photographs of related boards acquired by Professor William Patten (1861-1932) on Goaribari Island show boards with uncommon features, such as negative spaces on the bottom that facilitated handling during dances, and holes at the top for carrying torches. This particular example features both, not only aligning the work with those created pre-1910, but also with examples that held tribal purpose/function, being ritually used and not created for any ‘tourist market’.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related wood spirit board, dated late 19^th-early 20^th century, 168.9 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1979.206.1445.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s Paris, 23 June 2021, lot 44
Price: EUR 40,000 or approx. EUR 45,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Kerewa votive board, Papua New Guinea
Expert remark: Compare the related subject and decoration. Note the size (182 cm) and leaf-form.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 November 2021, lot 49
Price: USD 15,120 or approx. EUR 16,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Kerewa Spirit Board, Gulf of Papua, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving. Note the size (162.6 cm) and leaf-form.