Papua New Guinea Polychrome Painted Carved Wood Mindja Spirit Board. Long, narrow, carved wooden mask or spirit board (likely a Mindja or similar gope board) from the Asmat or Papuan Gulf region of New Guinea. It features an abstracted human face with a wide grin and is decorated with traditional pigments in a striking pattern of geometric and triangular fields of black, white, red, and ochre. A face that will make your day a little brighter, guaranteed.

Size: 5 x 11 x 44 in. 

Mindja spirit boards are ceremonial carved objects created by the Mindja people of Australia, serving as intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds. Typically made from wood and elaborately decorated with incised patterns, natural pigments, and symbolic motifs, these boards are used in ritual contexts to invoke ancestral spirits, communicate with the unseen, or guide communal ceremonies. Each board embodies both artistic skill and spiritual meaning, with the designs often representing Dreamtime stories, clan identities, or cosmological concepts. Beyond their ceremonial use, Mindja spirit boards are highly valued as cultural artifacts, offering insight into the beliefs, artistic traditions, and social structures of the Mindja community.

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