Trobriand Islands Ancestral Female Figure Carving
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An ancestral figure carving, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, 20th century. Carved from a single piece of wood and coloured with a rich brown patina. The figure depicts a female wearing a conical hat and a girdle. The figure stands in a closed posture with arms wrapped around her stomach. incised details depict body paint at her face, arms, and stomach. Height 37 cm, width 7 cm, depth 6 cm
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- Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.
As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.
Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation. - Incised - A record of a name, date or inscription, or a decoration scratched into a surface, usually of a glass or ceramic item with a blunt instrument to make a coarse indentation. Compare with engraving where the surface is cut with a sharp instrument such as a metal needle or rotating tool to achieve a fine indentation.
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