New Guinea Wosera Lintel

A massive Wosera New Guinea lintel, Middle Sepik Region. The people of New Guinea have always attached great importance to color, this in a country where flora and fauna are dramatic reminders of this aspect of life. This lintel is no exception to this focus.

Decorated in polychrome red, yellow, white, and black traditional paints. Line of eleven clan ancestors in high relief are seen bluntly carved, painted and repainted, lastly with Dutch blue trade powder. The lintel is pierced in several places for suspension over the entrance of a Haus Tambaran. The faces represent venerated ancestors, and the hornbills are symbolic of headhunting and power.

Collected in 1960's by the Paulian Missionary Society, we believe it to be circa 1930’s or 1940’s, based on its surface and style. An architectural piece of considerable scale and presence.

Examples of Wosera lintels are held in the British Museum and other major collections.

Length: 358 cm // 141 in

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