Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
Taki (Crocodile Spirit Figure)

CultureKarawari people
Titles
  • Taki (Crocodile Spirit Figure)
Date1900–1933
PlaceMansamei Village, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood, paint
Dimensions15 1/2 × 14 × 275 in. (39.4 × 35.6 × 698.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Houston Endowment, Inc.
Object number61.46
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
Lower Brown Corridor
On view

Explore Further

Object Type
ProvenanceFather Heinemans, Catholic Mission, Wewak, Papua New Guinea, before 1959; collected by Alfred Bühler (1900–1981) for the Museum für Völkerkunde und Schweizerisches Museum für Volkskunde (now the Museum der Kulturen), Basel, Switzerland, 1959–1961; purchased by MFAH, 1961.
Exhibition History"The Art of the Pacific Islands," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., July 1, 1979–February 7, 1980.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Bird Head
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1915–1920
Wood (alstonia, villosa), paint, opercula shells (Turbo petholatus)
89.260
Post from a Ceremonial House
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1900–1950
Wood, conus shell, and paint
61.56
Clan Ancestor Figure (Nggwalndu)
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1860–1900
Wood and paint
65.37
Male Spirit Mask
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1900–1925
Cane, rattan, cassowary feathers, mud, and paint
93.390
Figure
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1851–1900
Wood
62.44
Shield
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1915–1920
Wood, paint, rattan, and bark
89.259
Shield
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1950–1960
Wood and paint
91.1924
Shirt Mask
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1900–1973
Raffia, bamboo, other plant fibers, wood, paint, seeds, and feathers
73.182
Mask (Mwai)
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1935–1962
Wood, shells, hair, tusks, clay, plant fiber, and paint
62.33
Suspension Hook (Samban)
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1935–1962
Wood, plant fiber, and paint
62.41
Helmet Mask (tatanua)
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1884–1895
Wood, paint, opercula shells, lime plaster, plant fiber, bark, bark cloth, rattan, and cord
90.256
Helmet Mask (Baba Kumbu)
Unknown Indigenous Pacific Islands or First Nations Australian artist
1950–1960
Plant fiber and paint
90.407.2