A maro painting - Lot 132

A maro painting Maro could be worn by women during festivities, but it was also customary to hang them on the side of a small hut that was erected over a young woman's grave. A beautiful and now legendary photo taken in 1926 by Paul Wirz at Saboiboi near Lake Sentani attests to this, and the maro that can be seen next to this "funeral hut" and which he photographed and brought back has been in the Basel museum since 1927. This also testifies to the fact that the ancient tradition of maro painting took place both in Humboldt Bay and around Lake Sentani. Humboldt Bay, Irian Jaya, West New Guinea Bark and pigments. Approx. 140 x 90 cm and 110 x 165 cm for the frame. See p. 118 and 119 nos. 40 and 41 for photo and maro collected by Paul Wirz in: Ancestors of the Lake Art of Lake Sentani and Humboldt Bay, Ed. The Menil Collection Houston & Yale University Press, 2011. Provenance: - Probably collected by Jacques Viot - Jean Roudillon Collection