Collection Online as of March 22, 2023
Ancestral Tablet
Painted wood
Overall: 126.7 x 20.3 cm (49 7/8 x 8 in.)
Gift of The May Company, Cleveland 1963.555
Location
not on view
Description
Ancestral tablets are among the sacred objects stored in the ceremonial houses of the Papuan Gulf. Some are owned collectively, by clans, while others are the property of individuals. The tablets are used in the consecration of ceremonial houses and canoes, or in the initiation of children.