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Bird Figure

MOA: University of British Columbia

3277/20

Standing stone bird figure. The bird has a heart-shaped chest, two triangular legs, knob-like tail feathers, pointed head with bulging eyes, and two oval-shaped wings to each side with carved crosshatching. The stone is rough, and mottled in appearance with flecks of reddish-browns.

  • Narrative

    Purchased in May 1972, by Jack Lieber, from a village in Yaramanda, a settlement near the northern foothills of Mt. Hagen. The villager said it was a magic stone given to him by his father to place in the ground under the pighouse to ensure the fertility of animals. Lieber was in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea from August 1970 to June 1972, researching village communities in and around Goroka, where he was lecturing under the auspices of UNESCO at the Goroka Teachers College.

  • Type of Item figure
  • Culture New Guinea
  • Material stone
  • Measurements height 19.0 cm, width 11.1 cm, depth 10.7 cm (overall)
  • Previous Owner Jack Lieber, Iris Lieber
  • Received from Iris Lieber
  • Made in Western Highlands
  • Collection Date during 1972
  • Ownership Date before 2015, before December 8, 2017
  • Acquisition Date on December 8, 2017
  • Condition fair
  • Accession Number 3277/0020

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