Duk-Duk Figure, Tolai, Gazelle Peninsula, New Britain, Papua New Guinea Height: 57 cm Wood, pigments, plant fibers, and feathers. This figure depicts a Duk-Duk, an iconic figure in the initiatory societies of the Tolai people of the Gazelle Peninsula. Probably intended to adorn a dance or ceremonial staff, it evokes the famous rituals of the Duk-Duk societies, in which masked figures embodied supernatural spirits endowed with religious, social, and judicial authority. Provenance: - Van Bussel Collection, Amsterdam. - Joris Visser, Brussels. See: Dorotheum, October 31, 2017, lot 88 for a comparable example.