Rare artifacts on auction

SOME rare and valuable artefacts from Papua New Guinea, including a Telefomin shield from the last century, will go on Bonhams auction block in San Francisco next month.
The West Sepik tribal shield, which has a pre-sale estimate of US$8,000-US$10,000, (K17,008-K21,260) is expected to arouse great interest during Bonhams’ inaugural auction solely devoted to Oceanic art.
The Feb 10-12 auction will feature 150 lots of original, diverse works from the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Indonesia and Australia.
Bonhams said the Telefomin shield was collected in 1960 by Douglas Newton (1920-2001), who was Metropolitan Museum of Art Curator Emeritus of the department of the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas.
It was acquired by the current owner’s family in 1967.
It is most likely stone carved in high relief with motifs possibly representing a flying fox (sagaam); it is highlighted on the front with dark-brown, red-orange and white pigments.
On offer as well will be two lots of rare Angu (Kukukuku) clubs from the Eastern Highlands (pre-sale estimate each of US$1,000-US$1,500 (K2,126-K3,189).
The clubs, designed to be used as weapons by the Angu people during village raids, were field collected before Australian control of New Guinea in 1912.
Just more than 1m-long, they each feature a long wooden shaft with a circular, pierced, flat and smoothly ground stone disc adhered to one side.