House-post Figure
Unknown Artist
19th century
Medium
Wood, paint, fiber
Dimensions
H. 96 × W. 23 × D. 18 in. (243.8 × 58.4 × 45.7 cm)
Classification
Wood-Architectural
Culture
Kambot people
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969
Accession Number
1978.412.823
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking **House-post Figure**, carved by an unknown artist of the Kambot people the 19th century stands as a monumental testament to Oceanic architectural artistry. Towering at nearly 8 feet tall (H. 96 × W. 23 × D. 18 in.), it was designed as a structural support for a traditional house, blending functionality with profound cultural symbolism. Crafted from wood, adorned with paints, and accented by fiber elements, the figure likely depicts a male ancestor or spirit guardian, a common motif among the Kambot of Papua New Guinea's Sepik region. In Kambot society, such house posts were far...