Set of three axes or Dani Coins, Highlands Region, Papua New Guinea, 20th century.

Set of three axes or Dani Coins, Highlands Region, Papua New Guinea, 20th century.
Stone, vegetable fibers, pig teeth, dog teeth, cowrie shells, orchid stem basketry, cloth, couscous (possum) skin.
Measurements: 24.9 cm, 35.8 cm and 46 cm .
Set of three axes created as part of the cult to the ancestors and as a means of payment or compensation. There is one very similar to those in the collection of the Centre Pompidou (Inv. No. DOCDC 2011-4 (8)).
This type of axes are integrated in rituals of ancestral worship on ceremonial occasions and special celebrations. They are publicly displayed and some special forms are even dressed as can be seen in this assemblage. What is particularly interesting in New Guinea are the rules and techniques for quarrying the rock, which is only found on one mountain. The quarry is a sacred and secret place that only selected clansmen enter and mine.