COLLECTION OF FIFTY-FIVE (55) ARROWS PAPUA CIRCA 19TH CENTURY For Sale
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COLLECTION OF FIFTY-FIVE (55) ARROWS PAPUA CIRCA 19TH CENTURY:
$1800.00
These are a collection of fifty-five (55) arrows from Papua. They are circa 19th century.The arrows consist of two parts; the shafts are made of bamboo, the points are made of carved palmwood. Some have carved barbs or spirals. A few have bone, joined to the points. Others have carved geometric designs with pigment. Others have painted designs. The strong white color on some arrows is fiber wrapping withpigment. The connection between the shaft and the tip is wrapped with fiber-rope, rattan or orchid fiber. All having a lustrous patina.Lengths: longest: 67 inches - 170.2 cm. to shortest: 34 1/8 inches - 86.7 cm.The arrows are fully complete (see text below).
Cf. The last photo shows a group of similar arrows in the Wereld Museum, Rotterdam (NMVW-collection), Netherlands, dated \"before 1877\",object number:RV-175-63.
A man’s standing was based on his prowess rather than hismaterial goods. However, the material culture of weapon manufacture was atleast as important as actual technical and physical skills. Feuds and war werefought for the usual reasons; disputes over women or pigs, personal insults,accusations of sorcery, territorial disputes, disputes over access to foodresources, and revenge. Warfare included stealthy raids, attacks from ambush,and ritualized battles. Archery dominated warfare in the New Guinea. Arrowshafts were mostly bamboo. Generally, arrows were about 150 cm long, althougharrows as long as 230 cm have also been reported. Bamboo, wood, bone tips wereattached to the bamboo shafts using string made from plant fiber. Tips weresometimes heated, thereby creating a brittle arrowhead, which would fragment oncontact and create an infected wound. Hunting arrows were utilitarian, butceremonial and dueling arrows were sometimes elaborately decorated. The arrowsproduced by the Papuan tribes of New Guinea rival those of many of the world’snontribal societies in terms of diversity and complexity of arrowheads.Numerous specialized heads were made, including multipronged heads for birdhunting and fishing, bamboo blades for hunting, and plain and barbed hardwoodtips for warfare. The shafts are of reed, nockless, and rarely decorated;embellishment is saved for the foreshafts and heads, which often areelaborately carved and adorned with pigments and orchid-fiber wrapping.The head is made of hardwood, bone (Cassowary or human), bamboo or palm trunk.Traditionally they are cut using a stone axe and shaped with pig teeth.None of the arrows in New Guinea are feathered, and the end of the shaft is cut square, there being no nock.Thesearrows were sometimes used for ceremonial and exchange purposes, but they werealso commonly used in combat. The bow and arrow are also part of many ceremonies such as weddings, cremations and the pigfestival. The pig during the pig feast is traditionally shot with bow and arrow while two tribesmen hold the pig. During cremations, work is carried out in all sorts of phases to satisfy the spirits. During one of these phases, an arrow is shot through a grass bundle to dislodge the spirit. Also breaking arrows and bows is part of a reconciliation ritual in eastern Papua New Guinea.The bow and arrow are intertwined with the cultural identity of the Papuans.Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden, Netherlands.
Additional photos are available.
All offers considered.
To all folks that are watching: make an offer, I might accept.