Ancestral Figure (Korwar)
- Medium: Wood
- Place Made: Doreh Bay (possibly), New Guinea, Cenderawasih Bay, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
- Dates: early 20th century
- Dimensions: 8 3/4 x 6 x 5 1/4 in. (22.2 x 15.2 x 13.3 cm)
- Collections: Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands
- Museum Location:
This item is on view in The Arts of the Pacific, 1st Floor - Accession Number: 62.18.2
- Credit Line: Frank L. Babbott Fund
- Image: Overall, 62.18.2_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
- Catalogue Description: Kowar (mortuary figure). Carving is that of two figures, male and female, holding a stylized snake, each figure with one arm on a snake and the other arm on the free arm of the other figure. Male figure wears a tiny cap on top of his head. Condition: completely worm eaten around lower section. But top is in good condition.
Korwar figures serve to keep surviving relatives in contact with their deceased ancestors and thus always able to secure their powerful blessings. They serve as a medium of communication between the living and the dead. Korwars may be standing or squatting figures. The heads are large in relation to the highly abstract bodies; the chin is usually straight, horizontal, and broad; and the nose is the most prominent facial feature. This highly unusual double figure holds a shield (now partially eroded). The shield has been said to derive from the snake, which in turn represents rejuvenation and regeneration, a key idea in the religion of the people of Cenderawasih Bay.
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