Asmat Art: Woodcarvings of Southwest New Guinea FROM THE PUBLISHER
Asmat Art presents a collection of some of the finest woodcarvings of the Asmat, a people who inhabit the coastal swampforest of southwest New Guinea. This book emphasizes the rare early shields and figure sculptures in the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology in the Netherlands. Over 100 color plates are presented with detailed commentary on each piece of art, as well as background information on the Asmat people, their history, and their various artistic styles.
Steve van Beek, a long-term resident of Thailand, has a special interest in art.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The elaborate woodcarvings of the Asmat, who inhabit western New Guinea's coastal swamps, make the spirit world tangible. Head-hunting--practiced until the early 1960s--and ancestor worship figure prominently in this fierce people's intricate art. Spectacular, phallic bisj poles depicting human figures one above the other embody Asmat warriors' promise to avenge the deaths of the people carved into the pole. Abstract motifs on war shields symbolize deceased relatives; the Asmat believe these shields give warriors supernatural support in battle. Canoe prowheads, paddles, figure sculptures, eerie mask costumes and ``soulships'' carrying spirit passengers all reflect the Asmat preoccupation with the netherworld. Smidt, a curator at the Netherlands' National Museum of Ethnography, leads a team of scholars, collectors and anthropologists in ably discussing Dutch colonial contacts, Asmat festivals, religion and motifs. (June)
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