Plaque

During Abelam ceremonies, artists would decorate the inside of the great korumbo, or House of the Spirits, with large painted panels and woodcarvings. The panel on display depicts an ancestral couple engaged in sexual intercourse, represented with characteristically bright colors and rounded forms. Themes of procreation and ancestral origins were commonly depicted in spirit houses. The two hornbills at the top of the panel relate to the spirit world and were commonly associated with ancestor figures.