The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Oval, wood spirit board painted with a red and white figure narrowing to points at the top and bottom with jutting rectangular pieces. A long strip of wood juts out of the board as the figure's nose while the eyes are outlined in spiked lines, and the crescent-shaped mouth made from spiked lines. The figure has an oval body with lines making arms with three-fingered hands and legs.

Spirit Board

before 1930

Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Papuan Gulf, Elema District, 20th century

painted wood
Overall: 123.2 cm (48 1/2 in.)
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Munro 1971.154
Location: Not on view

Description

Like other sacred obejcts, spirit boards were displayed in Elema men's houses. Each board was named after the bush spirit who inhabited it.
  • “Annual Report for 1971.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59, no. 6 (June 1972): 147–179. Reproduced: p. 153 www.jstor.org
  • Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Spirit Board|url=false|author=|year=before 1930|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.154