ETHNIC ITEMS

P.N.G.

I have a large collection of Papuan New Guinea masks, some very old and others only 30 or so years old, but all interesting and mostly brilliantly carved.
However, my favourite New Guinea artefact is the huge Ancestor Board seen here.
It is 48 inches (4 feet) long and 10.75 inches wide.

Such boards are often called GOPE BOARDS - also SPIRIT BOARDS.
This board is well carved with a  bold design and strong tribal character.
The wood is painted with white pigment, almost certainly made with lime.
These boards were extremely important to the tribes of the Papuan Gulf.  They were considered to be protective spirits and were consulted before raids were made on other villages.
The spirit of the board went ahead of the raiding party to sap the strength of the victims.
My wife bought this board about 12 years ago from a junk shop in Toowoomba,

It has a figure 4 on the back, which probably indicates it was previously part of a collection.
As you can see from the photo, we have it hanging on our cottage verandah to ward off any evil people or spirits !