A group of two Melanesian drums. 20th century. Papua New Guinea. ++ Telefomin handheld drum. 36" x 5." ++ Sepik River handheld drum. Sepik River. 44" x 8."
Provenance: From the Estate of Lynda Cunningham, Philmont, NY. Lynda Cunningham was born in 1943 and held an immense interest in studying cultures before contact with Western society had permanently affected their culture. She took a job as a stewardess for American Airlines and used her position to travel to Papua New Guinea and begin collecting objects from Papua New Guinea in 1966. For the next 25 years she travelled back and forth between New Guinea and New York where she ran a small bookstore and gallery called Oceanic Primitive Arts. Cunningham was a highly regarded expert and connoisseur of Oceanic art from the late 1960’s to the early 1990’s.