Bat
Maker
Melanesian
Label TextBat play
Hung upside down, this bat was once suspended over a dance ground among other figures, with masks and headdresses also in attendance. It is made out of the fibrous trunk of a tree fern coated with a clay-like mixture of vegetable paste. The use of fernwood to make sculpture is a practice unique to people living on Vanuatu, located to the south of New Guinea, and north of Fiji. During a performance, enormous slit-gong instruments offered booming accompaniment. Whether the bat was cast as an evil or helpful character is still unknown.
Object number81.17.1437
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Untold Story, November 14, 2003 - November 14, 2004Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
Dimensions15 1/2 x 30 1/4 x 16 in. (39.37 x 76.84 x 40.64 cm)
MediumFernwood, dung, and fiber
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