Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Munro · The Cleveland Museum of Art
Image: public domain (CC0) · Museum record & image source ↗
Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Papuan Gulf, Elema District, 20th century · before 1930
Spirit Board
Creator not recorded by the museum
- Date
- before 1930
- Medium
- painted wood
- Dimensions
- Overall: 123.2 cm (48 1/2 in.)
- Country / context
- Papua New Guinea
- Movement / tradition
- Oceanic arts
- Collection
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Pathway
- Oceanic arts ↗
FROM THE MUSEUM
Like other sacred obejcts, spirit boards were displayed in Elema men's houses. Each board was named after the bush spirit who inhabited it.
Collection text · The Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0A MOMENT TO LOOK
Start with what you can see: shapes, surface, colour and scale. How might the listed materials affect the way this object was made and experienced?
Looking prompt · an invitation to observe, not a historical interpretation.Follow a connection.
Explore the tradition ↗
↗Melanesia, New Guinea, Massim Area, Trobriand Islands, 20th century · before 1930
Club
Creator not recorded
↗Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Sepik River region, 19th century · 1800s
Ancestral Figure
Creator not recorded
↗Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Huon Gulf, Tami Islands, 19th century · 1800s
Bowl
Creator not recorded
↗Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Abelam People, 20th century · 1900s
Yam Mask
Creator not recorded