Description
A finely carved paddle from Asei Village on Lake Sentani on the North Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia. Women’s paddles on Lake Sentani are the most beautifully decorated on the slender blade of the paddle. Carved from a single piece of hardwood and the leaf-shaped paddle blade is carved in low-relief stylized fish and other clan designs. Each clan has specific designs and anyone from Lake Sentani would know the clan & family that the paddle belonged to. Paddles are very much a technology that was in use to propel small canoes for fishing or traveling from village to village on the Lake. In good condition with a beautiful patina, h. 57, w. 14.
