Uli

Language: unknown
Language: unknown
Ancestor figure

Carved from a single piece of wood and up to two metres high, uli figures are typically hermaphroditic. They were related to the elaborate funerary rituals of New Ireland. Little is known about their specific meaning as they have not been used since 1930, presumably as a result of the influence of Christian missions.

Data Provider
Städtische Museen Freiburg
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Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Mandak
Object type
figures (representations)
Dimensions
Höhe: 1320.0 mm, Breite: 260.0 mm, Tiefe: 330.0 mm
Material/Technique
Carving
Current location
Museum Natur und Mensch
Inventory number
II/0848

Provenance and sources

when
1895 - 1905

when
21.08.1912

where
New Ireland (formerly New Mecklenburg) (location/origin)
Bismarck Archipelago (location/origin)
Papua New Guinea (location/origin)
Melanesia (location/origin)
Oceania (location/origin)
who
Werber, Paul - Collectors

Provenance
Naval officer Paul Werber acquired the object when he was travelling in the German colonies of Oceania on behalf of the Imperial Navy from 1910 to 1911. It is not known how he came into possession of the object.

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