Lot 89

Papua New Guinea Abelam Female Initiation Figure - Tetepeku

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Lot 89
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Papua New Guinea Abelam Female Initiation Figure - Tetepeku
Papua New Guinea Abelam Female Initiation Figure - Tetepeku
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Papua New Guinea Abelam Female Initiation Figure - Tetepeku

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, East Sepik Province, Abelam people, ca. 1950–2000 CE. A carved female figure whose long legs splay outward into a dramatic A-frame, hands drawn inward toward a prominently rendered vulva. Above rises a slender neck supporting an elongated ovoid head, its features pared to a ridged nose and hollowed sockets. Traces of red, white, and black pigment cling to the weathered timber, remnants of the vivid painting that once animated the form. This is a tetepeku, not a display sculpture but a threshold: such figures were mounted inside the men's ceremonial house (korombo), above doorways to the interior passages and initiation chamber. Novices stooped or crawled beneath her splayed legs, emerging as if reborn into the sacred space beyond. The posture is functional, a symbolic birth canal through which men passed to attain initiated status. Size: 9.3" W x 21.5" H (23.6 cm W x 54.6 cm H); on included custom stand: 9.75" W x 22.25" H x 4" D (24.8 cm W x 56.5 cm H x 10.2 cm D).

The male initiation cycle of the Abelam, who inhabit the Prince Alexander Mountains north of the Sepik River in the Maprik region, is saturated with female symbolism. The korombo itself is understood as a female being; the brilliantly painted panels lining the initiation chamber are called women's string bags (wut), and some scholars liken the chamber to a womb. To the uninitiated, the tetepeku is known as "she who blocks the road," the gap between her legs closed off by a string bag of barklike sago-palm petioles serving as a door. Beyond her waited the full splendor of the chamber: painted carvings and towering effigies of the clan spirits (nggwalndu).

Like all Abelam wood images, the tetepeku was intended to be seen freshly painted in the red, yellow, black, and white pigments favored by Abelam artists. Figures were often preserved and reused for decades, ritually washed in running streams to strip away the physical and magical residue of earlier paint before being repainted for each new installation.

Provenance: private Saint Louis, Missouri, USA collection; ex-Greg Hamson (brother of Michael Hamson, d. 2022), California, USA collection

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Item # 203964

  • Condition: Areas of old inactive insect damage as well as insect remains in some areas. Old repair with infill to verso. Some stable fissures to wood in areas, as well abrasions and expected surface wear. Otherwise, nice presentation with good remaining pigments and detail. Rich patina to surface.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000