photo of the wooden bowl on display at museum carved in canoe form with an ufir (palm cockatoo) head as the prow
closeup of the ufir (palm cockatoo) prow
photo of label “Asmat artist; West Papua Ndanim (Asmat, active 1961, Omadesep, Faretsj River, West Papua)* Jifoi (bowls) Mid-20th century Wood, paint The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection; Gift of Nelson A Rockefeller and Mrs. Mary C. Rockefeller, 1965 (1978.412.1177, 1199*) Recorded provenance: Michael C. Rockefeller expedition, collected 1961; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1961-65; the MPA, New York, 1965-78 The intricate, curving designs that decorate the surface of ceremonial vessels used for serving sago or preparing pigments are related to those on Asmat shields, paddles, and canoes. Many works, including these jifoi, are deliberately carved in canoe form. They feature fruit-eating birds like the ufir (palm cockatoo as their prows or "heads," emphasizing their potent associations with headhunting. These designs charged the ceremonial vessels' ability to maintain ongoing, living connections with ancestors in the spiritual realm.” * label includes info for a work not shown here
#Woodensday :
Asmat artist(s); Indonesia, West Papua, Erma village
Jifoi (bowl), mid-20th c.
Wood, paint
On display at the Met (1978.412.1177)
#Parrots #BirdsInArt #IndigenousArt #AustralasianArt
ℹ️ ufir (Palm #Cockatoo) head as the prow; fruit-eating birds = headhunting symbolism (see label)
