Portfolio demo by Aufal Tech. Objects, prices and texts are illustrative samples and the images are AI-generated. The WhatsApp buy buttons open a demo chat with Aufal Tech; no real sale takes place.

New acquisitions from the Papua collection are now catalogued.

AncestralCollections

Region

Papua & West Papua

The western half of New Guinea is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse places on earth. Hundreds of languages are spoken across its coasts, river systems and highlands, and artistic traditions differ just as widely from one community to the next.

This shelf gathers objects catalogued to the region as a whole. Where a specific community or locality is documented, the object is listed under that narrower heading as well, so it is never described more broadly than the evidence allows.

Editorial text in this demo is a sample. Regional and cultural statements on a live site are checked against published sources and cited.

Object types here: Shields · Textiles & Bark Cloth · Figures & Sculpture · Vessels & Containers · Canoe & Architectural Carving · Tools & Implements

Tall carved wooden shield with red, white and black relief scrolls, photographed upright against a warm ivory wallRectangular beaten bark cloth painted with black and red fish and spiral motifs, hung flat on an ivory wallSlender carved wooden standing figure with bent knees and raised arms, front view on a pale plinthRound lidded basket woven from natural fibre with a dark geometric band, on a pale surface

Objects from Papua & West Papua

Filter in the collection
Tall carved wooden shield with red, white and black relief scrolls, photographed upright against a warm ivory wall

AC-0101 · Asmat

Carved and Painted Shield

Shields · Wood, Natural pigment, Lime

Price on requestAvailable
Rectangular beaten bark cloth painted with black and red fish and spiral motifs, hung flat on an ivory wall

AC-0201 · Sentani, Lake Sentani

Painted Bark Cloth with Fish Motifs

Textiles & Bark Cloth · Bark, Natural pigment

Rp 18.500.000Available
Slender carved wooden standing figure with bent knees and raised arms, front view on a pale plinth

AC-0102 · Asmat

Standing Ancestor Figure

Figures & Sculpture · Wood, Natural pigment

Rp 75.000.000Available
Round lidded basket woven from natural fibre with a dark geometric band, on a pale surface

AC-0301 · Raja Ampat

Lidded Woven Basket

Vessels & Containers · Fibre

Rp 6.000.000Available
Long horizontal openwork wooden canoe prow carving with bird forms, whitened with lime, on a dark plinth

AC-0103 · Asmat

Canoe Prow Carving

Canoe & Architectural Carving · Wood, Lime

Rp 50.000.000Reserved
Polished grey stone adze blade bound with plaited fibre to a bent wooden handle, lying on linen

AC-0401 · Papua & West Papua

Stone Adze with Fibre Binding

Tools & Implements · Stone, Wood, Fibre

Rp 15.000.000Available
Oval dark wooden bowl with spiral relief carving on the rim, three-quarter view on linen

AC-0202 · Sentani, Lake Sentani

Carved Wooden Bowl

Vessels & Containers · Wood

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Within Papua & West Papua

Asmat

Communities of the southwest coastal lowlands of New Guinea, widely known for carved shields, figures and canoe prows.

3 objects

Lake Sentani

Lake communities near Jayapura, known in particular for painted bark cloth and carved wood.

2 objects

Raja Ampat

An archipelago off the western tip of New Guinea, with island communities linked by long histories of sea trade.

1 object

Stories to read

Hands in cotton gloves turning a carved wooden figure under a soft lamp, notebook beside it

Collecting ·

How to Read a Condition Report

Cracks, losses, old repairs and patina: what each line of a condition report tells you, and what to ask before you buy.

Read the story

Old letters, photographs and an exhibition catalogue laid out on a wooden desk

Ethics ·

Provenance: Why the Paper Trail Matters

Ownership history protects collectors, communities and the objects themselves. Here is how documentation is handled.

Read the story

Sheets of beaten bark cloth drying on the grass by a lake shore, one partly painted with black spirals, a person standing in the distance

Regions ·

Painted Bark Cloth of Lake Sentani

From beaten inner bark to painted surface: a short look at one of the best-known art forms of the lake.

Read the story

Carved wooden figure on a shelf in a quiet room with diffused daylight and a small hygrometer beside it

Care ·

Caring for Carved Wood at Home

Light, humidity and handling: simple habits that keep a wooden object stable for decades.

Read the story

Related regions

Asmat

Communities of the southwest coastal lowlands of New Guinea, widely known for carved shields, figures and canoe prows.

3 objects

Lake Sentani

Lake communities near Jayapura, known in particular for painted bark cloth and carved wood.

2 objects

Raja Ampat

An archipelago off the western tip of New Guinea, with island communities linked by long histories of sea trade.

1 object