ASMAT Bis Pole PreColumbian and in the streets and

and in the streets and cafés of Paris

Bay Area Collection

carved in basalt volcanic ruff

matted and framed size 35 1/4” x  22 1/2”

ASMAT Bis Pole PreColumbian and in the streets andAsmat Ancestor Pole, Bis or Bisj Pole, carved wood, pigment, organic material, 14 ft H The Asmat honored their dead with feasts and rituals, which both commemorated the deceased and reminded the living to avenge their deaths. The towering Asmat "bis" poles were made for these funeral feasts. The basic form of the bis is an openwork pole incorporating several ancestor figures and a winglike projection that represents the pole's phallus. In Asmat