Ceremonial Board (gerua wenena)
- Artist Culture
- Siane artist
- Date
- mid-20th century
- Material
- Wood, pigment
- Classification
- Sculpture, wood
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 107
- Dimensions
- 55 11/16 x 14 15/16 x 7/8 in. (141.5 x 38 x 2.3 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 19:1977
NOTES
Colorful, geometric designs enhance an abstracted human silhouette. This figure’s folded arms and legs suggest a crouching position, with the hands just below either side of the head. The lower section of the sculpture, which seems to suggest legs, would have been concealed when worn, disappearing into the headdress that mounted the figure atop the performer’s head.
In an impressive display, hundreds of men wear figures such as this, called "gerua," during dances celebrating grand periodic exchanges of pigs. These occasions give rhythm to the life of Siane communities in the Highlands of New Guinea. The painted motifs of a gerua are specific to different participating clans.
Provenance
- 1972
Roberta M. Nochimson, New York, NY, USA
1972 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Roberta M. Nochimson [1]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated November 13, 1972 from Roberta M. Nochimson to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Gurua Board, Sianni River, Northern Highlands" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14, 1977.
Roberta M. Nochimson, New York, NY, USA
1972 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Roberta M. Nochimson [1]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated November 13, 1972 from Roberta M. Nochimson to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "Gurua Board, Sianni River, Northern Highlands" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14, 1977.