This wooden carving originated in the Sepik River area of New Guinea. It represents the ancestral fish spirit of one of the local clans. The peoples of the interior of New Guinea have some of the oldest cultures in the world. Many of the clans were not contacted by Westerners until the middle of the 20th Century and some still shun outside contact. This particular carving was originally acquired in the early 20th Century but could be much older.
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