Female Figure

ClassificationsSculpture

Artist Osiik

Datemid 20th Century

Made AtPalau

Collection SitePalau

MediumWood, fiber and shell

Dimensions15 1/2 × 4 × 4 in. (39.4 × 10.2 × 10.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Frieda O. Wray from the Estate of Dr. & Mrs. Douglas and Carolyn Osborne

Object number2019.17.29

DescriptionThis is a wooden statue of a standing female figure carved by a carving apprentice named Osiik in 1954. Palauan standing figures are made in a variety of styles and may be carved from heavy dark wood such as teak or from lighter wood such as breadfruit. This particular figurine features a grass skirt that was assembled by weaving together strips of plant fiber and securing them with a braided band. A standing figure, such as the one presented here, would have been carved as tokens for the deceased or used as ancestral shrines for the spirit of the dead. Although these types of statues are no longer significant as ancestral shrines, they have gained monetary value to carvers as items of barter.

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