Suspension Hook with Female Figure
| Origin | Sepik River |
|---|---|
| Title | Suspension Hook with Female Figure |
| Date | 19th–mid 20th century |
| Medium | Wood |
| Dimensions | Object: 36 in. (91.4 cm) Overall: 36 in. (91.4 cm) |
| Credit Line | Anonymous Gift, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2009.90 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
A suspension hook with a standing female figure. The figure's legs end in the hook form of the suspension hook.
Suspension hooks were used to protect and keep vermin away from a range of objects including food, clothing, and ceremonial objects. Suspension hooks are usually decorated with figures, animals or humans, which are important to the owner’s family or ancestors and important community spirits.
While many suspension hooks were used for daily tasks and hung from the rafters of a home, others were kept within men’s ceremonial houses. Those that hung within a ceremonial house could have been used to hold skulls, offerings, or other ceremonially important objects. It would not have been unusual for such a ceremonial suspension hook to have not been functionally used and instead considered solely a powerful sculptural representation of an important spirit or ancestor.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"Suspension Hook with Female Figure | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2009.90