Ancient Bows and Spear from Papua New Guinea

Three old Bows andSpear, two very old bows from the Southern…
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Three old Bows andSpear, two very old bows from the Southern Highlands, together with an orchid stem fibre covered bow from Bougainville Island ( in near perfect original condition), and a mount Hagen spear finial. Collected by Todd Barlin 'Two Bows were collected in 1985 I walked with medical patrol from lake Kopiago in the Southern Highlands to the Hewa people (they are between the Southern Highlands & East Sepik Province ) It took three days of up and down mountains and on the third late afternoon we ran into our first group of Hewa people, to say the least they were surprised to see me and the three other unknown Papuan New Guinea ns. They had not seen any outsiders for 10-15 years. They did not wear western clothes & still lived in the very tall tree houses, mostly untouched & unnoticed by the outside world. I asked about material culture and they seemed only to have beautifully made arrows and this axe was also offered for trade. See the attached field photos of my trip to Hewa. The men I met that first day, every man and bow was carrying a bow and arrows.' - Todd Barlin *field Photos Copyright Todd Barlin & the South Australian Museum, 90 - 172 cm (4)

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  • Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.

    Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.

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