Lot 254 D α

Cf. Heermann, I. (Ed.), "FormColour Inspiration: Oceanic Art from New Britain", Stuttgart, 2001, pp.158-163, figs.93,98,99. The designs on such cloths were made from memory and never copied and sometimes more than one man would work on a design. Beatrice Blackwood in her research in the 1930s recorded that when a design could be interpreted by an owner or a painter, its interpretation was not necessarily universally recognised. Inspiration for the designs were said to include pig's tusk ornaments, fishing nets, creepers and snakes.