Title
Kompuna (pelvic girdle)
mid 20th century
collected 1972
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Tirokave
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Kainantu District
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Eastern Highlands Province
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Papua New Guinea
- Cultural origin
- Kafe people
- Dates
- mid 20th century
collected 1972 - Media categories
- Botanical material , Mixed media
- Materials used
- barkcloth, plant fibre cord, cowrie shells (Cypraeidae), wood, machine-wove fabric, yellow and red pigments
- Dimensions
- waistband 28.0 cm diameter; rear barkcloth panel 50.0 cm length; wooden panel 10.0 x 18.2 x 7.0 cm
- Credit
- Gift of Stan Moriarty 1977
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 604.1979
- Copyright
- © the artist, under the endorsement of the Pacific Islands Museums Association's (PIMA) Code of Ethics
- Artist information
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Orgiri Tabzono
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
The 'kompuna' was worn across the hips and thigh and around the groin. When Australian gold prospectors first made contact with eastern highlanders in the 1930s, men across the region typically wore girdles such as these. Their form and decoration differed from group to group.
At the front of the 'kompuna' a small piece of wood is suspended, cut into the shape of what might be a butterfly with outstretched wings – as described by Michael Leahy in 1930 – or possibly a bat, which protects the groin. A long length of barkcloth with geometric patterns beaten into the surface hangs from the back, while a shorter strip is suspended from the wooden pubic cover. The entire girdle is festooned with scores of cowrie shells, once a valuable trade item across the highlands.
This 'kompuna' was made by Orgiri Tabzono of the Abaninofi Clan and was purchased by Stan Moriarty during his last journey to the highlands in 1972.
[Exhibition text for 'Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands', AGNSW, 2014]
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 30 May 2014–10 Aug 2014
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Bibliography
Referenced in 1 publication
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Natalie Wilson (Editor), Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands, Sydney, 2014, 128 (illus.), 129 (colour illus.), 162. cat.no. 73
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