New Guinea Highlands Ritual Bone Dagger | Human Femur with Pigment & Feathers | 19th Century

$1,250.00
$1,250.00
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19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur, decorated with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, ethnographic artifact
New Guinea Highlands ritual bone dagger carved from a human femur with pigment and engraved designs, rotating view showing craftsmanship and ceremonial form.
19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur with cassowary feathers
Ethnographic New Guinea Highlands dagger, human bone construction, natural pigments, 19th-century ceremonial artifact
Rare 19th-century ritual dagger from New Guinea Highlands, decorated with feathers and painted bone handle
New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” dagger, human femur carving, traditional pigments and cassowary feather adornments
Ethnographic 19th-century ceremonial dagger from New Guinea, human bone and feather construction, ritual use
Carved human femur dagger with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, 19th-century New Guinea Highlands artifact
  • 19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur, decorated with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, ethnographic artifact
  • New Guinea Highlands ritual bone dagger carved from a human femur with pigment and engraved designs, rotating view showing craftsmanship and ceremonial form.
  • 19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur with cassowary feathers
  • Ethnographic New Guinea Highlands dagger, human bone construction, natural pigments, 19th-century ceremonial artifact
  • Rare 19th-century ritual dagger from New Guinea Highlands, decorated with feathers and painted bone handle
  • New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” dagger, human femur carving, traditional pigments and cassowary feather adornments
  • Ethnographic 19th-century ceremonial dagger from New Guinea, human bone and feather construction, ritual use
  • Carved human femur dagger with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, 19th-century New Guinea Highlands artifact
19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur, decorated with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, ethnographic artifact
New Guinea Highlands ritual bone dagger carved from a human femur with pigment and engraved designs, rotating view showing craftsmanship and ceremonial form.
19th-century New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” ritual dagger carved from human femur with cassowary feathers
Ethnographic New Guinea Highlands dagger, human bone construction, natural pigments, 19th-century ceremonial artifact
Rare 19th-century ritual dagger from New Guinea Highlands, decorated with feathers and painted bone handle
New Guinea Highlands “husband-killing” dagger, human femur carving, traditional pigments and cassowary feather adornments
Ethnographic 19th-century ceremonial dagger from New Guinea, human bone and feather construction, ritual use
Carved human femur dagger with natural pigments and cassowary feathers, 19th-century New Guinea Highlands artifact

New Guinea Highlands Ritual Bone Dagger | Human Femur with Pigment & Feathers | 19th Century

Description
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Historical Context & Origin

Region: New Guinea Highlands
Material: Human femur (later tradition also cassowary bone) with natural pigment decoration and feather embellishments
Period: 19th Century

Description
A rare and culturally significant New Guinea “husband-killing dagger,” traditionally carved from a human thigh bone and employed in acts of ritual justice. In highland societies, these daggers could be used by a wife—often assisted by her brother—to exact vengeance upon a husband who had violated sacred social codes, including infidelity or betrayal.

This example, measuring 13.75 inches, shows careful shaping of the bone into a tapered, lethal form, with geometric curvilinear motifs painted in natural pigments. Feathers, likely from the cassowary, remain attached as embellishments, heightening the object’s spiritual resonance. The dagger stands as both a functional weapon and a symbol of kinship, justice, and the cosmological order within New Guinea highland communities.

Features

- Carved human femur, sharpened and shaped as a ritual dagger

- Painted geometric designs in natural pigments

- Cassowary feather embellishments for spiritual potency

- Strong ritual associations with gender roles, kinship, and tribal justice

- Well-preserved ethnographic artifact with striking presence

Cultural Significance
Bone daggers of this type embody New Guinea’s intricate social and spiritual codes. Beyond their use as weapons, they were objects of ritual legitimacy, often carved by a wife’s brother to reinforce communal justice. The eventual transition from human femur to cassowary bone reflects the symbolic power of the cassowary—an animal revered for its strength and connection to ancestral spirits. These daggers thus encapsulate both justice and cosmology, serving as rare survivals of indigenous legal and ritual practice.

Condition
Excellent condition with natural patina, preserved pigment decoration, and surviving feather embellishments. Minor wear consistent with handling and ritual use. No modern restoration.

Dimensions (approximate)
Length: 13.75 in

Age
19th Century, New Guinea Highlands

Learn More

Read More About New Guinea Bone Daggers 

See Similar Artifacts at The Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology

Explore Our Other Human Bone Artifacts: Ancient Tibetan Kapala Skull Cap and Pair of Rare Large Tibetan Kapala Citipati Beads

Description

 

Historical Context & Origin

Region: New Guinea Highlands
Material: Human femur (later tradition also cassowary bone) with natural pigment decoration and feather embellishments
Period: 19th Century

Description
A rare and culturally significant New Guinea “husband-killing dagger,” traditionally carved from a human thigh bone and employed in acts of ritual justice. In highland societies, these daggers could be used by a wife—often assisted by her brother—to exact vengeance upon a husband who had violated sacred social codes, including infidelity or betrayal.

This example, measuring 13.75 inches, shows careful shaping of the bone into a tapered, lethal form, with geometric curvilinear motifs painted in natural pigments. Feathers, likely from the cassowary, remain attached as embellishments, heightening the object’s spiritual resonance. The dagger stands as both a functional weapon and a symbol of kinship, justice, and the cosmological order within New Guinea highland communities.

Features

- Carved human femur, sharpened and shaped as a ritual dagger

- Painted geometric designs in natural pigments

- Cassowary feather embellishments for spiritual potency

- Strong ritual associations with gender roles, kinship, and tribal justice

- Well-preserved ethnographic artifact with striking presence

Cultural Significance
Bone daggers of this type embody New Guinea’s intricate social and spiritual codes. Beyond their use as weapons, they were objects of ritual legitimacy, often carved by a wife’s brother to reinforce communal justice. The eventual transition from human femur to cassowary bone reflects the symbolic power of the cassowary—an animal revered for its strength and connection to ancestral spirits. These daggers thus encapsulate both justice and cosmology, serving as rare survivals of indigenous legal and ritual practice.

Condition
Excellent condition with natural patina, preserved pigment decoration, and surviving feather embellishments. Minor wear consistent with handling and ritual use. No modern restoration.

Dimensions (approximate)
Length: 13.75 in

Age
19th Century, New Guinea Highlands

Learn More

Read More About New Guinea Bone Daggers 

See Similar Artifacts at The Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology

Explore Our Other Human Bone Artifacts: Ancient Tibetan Kapala Skull Cap and Pair of Rare Large Tibetan Kapala Citipati Beads

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