Asmat Tribe

The Asmat are located in the harsh coastal swamps of southwest New Guinea. The Asmat tribe was notorious for head hunting and cannibalism and some still practice it today. Due to the harsh environment the Asmat relied on the swampy forest for their art supplies. Red, white and black are the colours used by the Asmat found from red earth, lime or calcinated clam shells, and charcoal.

Bisj poles and war shields are amongst the most famous carvings of the Asmat tribe thanks to Michael Rockefellers expedition in 1961. Rockefeller disappeared during his travels in the Asmat area and his quest for collecting shields and bisj poles. His Collection can now be seen at the museum of primitive art in New York.

The collection from Niche Antique is a personal collection from an asmat dealer in the 80's. We have dealt with many containers of asmat pieces throughout the 80's and collected the best pieces for a personal collection. Now these pieces are available for sale.

Most of the wood is carved from light Mangrove wood; therefore, it is difficult in a swampy warm climate to find good authentic old pieces from a tribe that does not care well for their pieces. There is no storage and generally at the time they would leave their carvings on the muddy ground where bugs would damage the pieces.

If you are interested in purchasing authentic Asmat carvings look at the pictures to the right and click on the ones you like for a description and price (Taxes not included GST 5% PST 7%). For further information email us at nicheantique@gmail.com