Choiseul or New Georgia Western Solomon Islands Carved Anthropomorphic Spirit Image or Guardian Figure
A Choiseul or New Georgia Western Solomon Islands Carved Anthropomorphic Spirit Image or Guardian Figure
Wood Parinarium nut resin and Nautilus shell
Late 19th Century
Size: 42cm high – 16½ ins high (including stand)
Wood Parinarium nut resin and Nautilus shell
Late 19th Century
Size: 42cm high – 16½ ins high (including stand)
In the Solomon Islands the artefacts that were produced all had a traditional and symbolic importance for the interaction of supernatural spirits with the living. Figure images played vital communicative roles throughout the forty small and six large islands of the Solomons.
Personal success and political power were closely associated with concepts of influential supernatural forces derived from spirits, which could imbue favoured individuals with exceptional ability and fortune. Success was achieved by the correct propitiation of spirits and an adherence to formal taboos, which regulated behaviour according to the supposed satisfaction of the ancestral spirits. The best-known symbols of these spirits are the carved wood guardian figures.
Personal success and political power were closely associated with concepts of influential supernatural forces derived from spirits, which could imbue favoured individuals with exceptional ability and fortune. Success was achieved by the correct propitiation of spirits and an adherence to formal taboos, which regulated behaviour according to the supposed satisfaction of the ancestral spirits. The best-known symbols of these spirits are the carved wood guardian figures.
Choiseul or New Georgia Western Solomon Islands Carved Anthropomorphic Spirit Image or Guardian Figure
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