Large Chambri / Aibom Pottery Jar - Papua New Guinea (Ex. 1970's Collection)
This large pottery jar, called a “damarau” was part of a large private collection of artefacts collected from the region of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea in the early 1970's. It is from the village of Aibom and its purpose is for the storage of sago palm flour. Such jars are decorated with human, bird and/or animal faces and painted with various natural pigments. Due to the nature and use of such jars, surviving examples in collections often have some degree of damage or repair. Typically the surface colour of the pottery will vary from a reddish-brown to black and there are sometimes firing cracks, especially where the pottery is at its thickest. It has a rounded base to be placed in a soft ground, but if displayed any type of circular base or ring will allow the jar to stand securely upright. It is painted with a white pigment. There are some chips to the edges of the face and a section broken from the rim, the surface of which has been stabilised to prevent further flaking. Height 50 cm