Wanuma shoulder shield, New Guinea art, Oceanic Art
This is a rare pre-contact, stone-carved shoulder shield from the Wanuma area of the Adelbert Mountains in Papua New Guinea. I field collected this back in the 1990s and just bought it back four days ago. It has a wonderful crab drawn in white pigments on the front and notice the smooth, wavy surface of the reverse and crater-type hoses along the top for the cane strap—signifiers of non-metal tool carving. The shield dates to the late 19th/early 20th century, is 30” (76.2 cm) in height and sells for $4500. Questions?