House Pole
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Apr 1994
label: Collection Date
content: 1970's
name: label: Collector
content: George C. McGhee
label: Donor Name
content: George C. McGhee
notes: label: Notes
content: CARVED FROM ONE PIECE OF WOOD. ONE SIDE HAS, IN DESCENDING ORDER: A MASK AT TOP FLANKED BY A BIRD ON EITHER SIDE; THREE DIMENSIONAL MALE FIGURE WITH CROCODILE BELOW IT AND THREE DIMENSIONAL FEMALE FIGURE BELOW AT BOTTOM. OTHER SIDE OF POLE HAS, IN DESCENDING ORDER: CARVED MASK AT TOP IDENTICAL TO ONE ON OTHER SIDE WITH BIRDS FLANKING EITHER SIDE; FROG; TURTLE; FACE MASK WITH PROTRUDING TONGUE; AND MALE FIGURE. ENTIRE SURFACE BELOW TOP MASKS IS INTRICATELY CARVED IN RAISED CROCODILE SKIN PATTERNS. BLACK AND WHITE TAPE TAG ACCOMPANYING OBJECT READS: "HOUSE POLE OF RETIRED HAUS TAMBARAN AT ANGORAM BUILT 1930 FOR ALL SEPIK PEOPLE CARVED BY BLACKWATER CLAN". NOTE: ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PIECE THERE IS A CARVED CIRCLE WITH A PATTERN INSIDE WHICH LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO A CHRISTIAN SYMBOL FOR A CROSS. ACCORDING TO CATHERINE RHODES, CATALOGER, 1996, THIS IS VERY UNUSUAL.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 2 Dec 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Angoram, Sepik River (lower), New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Blackwater Clan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 390923
label: USNM Number
content: E427006-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: House Post
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 478 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 55 cm
label: Depth - Object
content: 33.25 cm