Kaluli Tribe Papua New Guinea

I saw a photo of this figure represented in an old Japanese travel publication over 30 years ago. This piece was made to represent the unusual headdress and long grass foliage added to his back. All foliage and feathers were made in plastic. Over the years, the piece has been slightly damaged and recently, I decided to refurbish this piece completely.

The drum position was shifted upwards to be held in the hand more convincingly. the dancing apron was resculpted. The pennate feathers on the headdress were made from aquarium plastic leaves. The long grass was made from aquarium plastic long leaves, tied with wire and soaked in very hot water and then cooled to retain their new shape. each strand was carefully added to the figure to represent a natural droop of these long leaves. The red feathers were made from real feathers trimmed down. The figure was transferred to a new base.