A PAPUA NEW GUINEA CARVED WOOD SUSPENSION HOOK Early to mid 20th century
70 cm high
Provenance: Acquired before 1975.
Suspension hooks such as this could have utilitarian and ceremonial functions. First of all, fastened to a rafter, they were used to safeguard from vermin food and cloths placed in baskets which were hung from the prongs at their base. Furthermore, they could be used as sacred images, usually depicting an ancestral spirit linked to the owner’s clan.