Artwork information

The Asmat live in south-west Irian Jaya and are among the finest Melanesian artists. This war shield is decorated with stylized flying foxes and has an ancestor’s face at the top. (Te Moananui a Kiwa)

Almost all known Asmat carvings date from after European contact during the nineteenth century, and vast numbers were collected by traders after the Second World War. (Te Moananui a Kiwa, 2005)