Sorcerer Stick

This sorcerer's stick is from Papua New Guinea, and it was considered to be an object of great power. When held upright,  the carvings resemble a human face.  When pointed directly at you or horizontally it takes on the form of a crocodile's head. 

Last Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

The Craziest Tobacco Pipe

Third Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Bamboo Tobacco Pipes from Papua New Guinea

I have been spending a lot of time at the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center (MSC), where the bulk of the collections are stored. These tobacco pipes were collected by British anthropologist Alfred Cort Haddon in the early 1900s. Dr. Bell asked me to visually "unroll" them to show the complete patterns. It would have been simplest to do rubbings of the pipes to get an accurate and quick layout, but because they are so old and delicate, I drew a grid on my paper and transferred points using a soft tape measure.

Last Akeke Pattern (for a while)

This akeke is unusual, because it seems to be a combination of multiple patterns. There will be a little break from these for a while, but Dr. Bell is trying to get more samples from the Pitt-Rivers Museum. 

The work does get a little repetitive, but it is for an exciting project called The Recovering Voices Initiative, which aims to document and preserve dying languages and technologies. These illustrations, along with some diagrams that I'm working on, will be made into a book. It will become a part of the Smithsonian archives,  and will be made freely available to anybody in Papua New Guinea who is interested in making or studying these baskets. 

Koi Paku and Rukoa Roko Roko

Koi Paku

Rukoa Roko Roko

I don't know that much about these patterns, but the bottom basket is used primarily for storing food, while the top basked is used for storing personal items. 

Papua New Guinean Akeke Baskets So Far

Because there are so many of these, and I don't want them taking up the whole blog, I consolidated them into one image. There will be twelve all together when it's done, so check back for additions!