FIG. 11 (PAGE OPPOSÉE) : Tessons de poterie. Culture Lapita culture, îles Santa Cruz. 1350–750 av. J.-C. Bishop Museum inv# SE-SZ-45-T13- 6a, 6b, 6c. FIG.12 : Divinité. Îles Ha‘apai, Tonga. Dent de baleine. Bishop Museum inv# 1986.278.001, Catherine C. Summers, don de 1986. FIG. 13 : Masque cérémoniel apouema. Nord-est de Nouvelle- Calédonie. Avant 1898. Bois, fibres, cheveux et plumes. Bishop Museum inv# 01933, Eric Craig Collection, achat vers 1898. 89 area on the northern part of the island. This region can be broadly divided into the coastal area, and the lower, middle, and upper Sepik river areas. The coastal section is illustrated in the exhibition by several large and early masks and a fully ornamented male ancestor figure portrayed wearing the conical fiber headdress that was common in the region at the time. This figure was acquired by Tervuren in 1972 from Brussels art dealer Jan Dierickx. The highlight of the lower Sepik region is the outstanding Biwat ceremonial flute stopper given in 1931 to the Cinquantenaire by Baroness de Bethune-Wienholt in memory of her husband Baron Felix de Bethune. Along with the Wurztburger Biwat figure in Baltimore and the Wielgus one in Indiana, this flute stopper figure is one of a very few extant examples on which the original initiatory paintwork is still evident. Also from the lower Sepik is a superb four-figured neckrest and a pectoral maskette that was donated by former Cinquantenaire curator Henri Lavachery, one of the lead members of the abovementioned Metraux-Lavachery Expedition. The Iatmul people in the middle Sepik are among the largest cultures along the Sepik and are noted for their wealth of carvings. There is a fine Mwai mask from this group as well as a remarkable lime container with a classic cockatoo/crocodile stopper. Rounding out this part is a small but superb mask headdress acquired from Edgar Beer in 1951, which is rendered in woven fiber as delicately as it could be in wood. From further up the Sepik, the installation includes four impressive Karawari River carvings, including two outstanding large yipwon charms and a rare “Mother of the Tree Kangaroo” altar. The substantial yimar male figure in this section is similar to examples in the Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, and the Jolika Collection at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The second large art-producing area on New Guinea is along the shores of the Papuan Gulf on the southern side of the eastern half of the island. Like the Sepik, this area was also explored quite early in the history of European contact, and the objects from Tervuren reflect that. Chief among the Papuan Gulf objects are a large Purari Delta area-gope ancestor board with a figure carved in relief and an FIG. 10: Dance mask. Coastal Sepik/Ramu area, Papua New Guinea. Before 1943. Wood, pigment. H: 39 cm. Bought from Gustave (Guillaume) De Hondt in 1943 by the MRAH, Brussels. Acquired by the MRAC by exchange in 1979. MRAC inv. #EO.1979.1.1295. Relating to a small number of masks collected in Watam village, these as a group are among the most visually powerful of Sepik River masks. This example has an exceptionally broad nose and brow contributing to its brooding energy. Like other masks, it embodies ancestral spirits. FIG. 11: Ceremonial lime container. Iatmul, Middle Sepik area, Papua New Guinea. Wood, bamboo, fiber, pigment. H: 63.4 cm. Donated by the Baroness de Bethune to the MRAH, Brussels. Acquired by the MRAC by exchange in 1979. MRAC inv. #EO.1979.1.1308. Decorated lime containers were important personal possessions of high-ranking men. They were heirloom objects and were passed on to family members. Iatmul art often incorporates multiple zoomorphic images of which the crocodile/bird juxtapositioning is most common. Here the bird is either a cockatoo or a parrot.
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