PNG Arts, Port Moresby

An Excellent Collection Of PNG Art

The two greatest regions for art within Papua New Guinea, the Sepic River Basin and the Papuan Gulf, are completely different in form and style. The Papuans, who were the earliest immigrants to New Guinea, were food gatherers and hunters with relatively simple tools. Despite later migrations, the Papuan influence remained quite strong in the southern side of the central cordillera such that the art form here is basically two-dimensional. The only three dimensional forms in this area are made from the natural branches and roots of the mangrove tree.

There are two other major craft producing areas within the country -- the Huon Peninsula and Milne Bay. It is interesting to note that in all areas, both sculpture and painting are exclusively men's work because they involve images which are emphatically religious in character and play a major role in cult ceremonies from which women are excluded.

Ceremonial masks and trumbuans, boards and shields, stools, tables, weapons, bowls, utensils, everyday tools and utility objects, story murals, arrows and spears, costume accessories, jewelry, musical instruments -- all represent opportunities to include the sacred and mystical in everyday life.

PNG Arts is far and away the best source for collecting art and handicrafts from New Guinea. As we traveled around from region to region, we found artists who offer their wares directly, however the obvious difficulties involved in visiting all the parts of New Guinea prohibit all but the most dedicated collector from direct contact with artists in every region.

From the Sepic River mountains, the southern highlands, the gulf and coastal regions and the remote islands, PNG Arts has collected a plethora of artifacts and fine art works from the far corners of New Guinea. In a land of 800 tribes and languages, these primitive art objects are as unique as the people in every corner of this great country.

New Guinea art is among the most prized of melanesian artifacts. PNG Arts has an enviable working knowledge of these products and offers a hassle-free service of shipping items back home inexpensively and safely. Don't pass through Port Moresby without stopping here for several hours.