The art and carved objects created by the Asmat of Papua inspired my artifact mystery, Rituals of the Dead. Here are some photographs of the Missie (Mission) Museum Steyl’s Papua New Guinea collection, as well as that of the Tropenmuseum – in particular their fantastic bis poles.
Missie Museum Steyl is a fascinating museum located in Southern tip of the Netherlands. You can read more about Museum Steyl, their Asmat collection, the colonial origins of many ethnographic museums the locations described in Rituals of the Dead, or read an excerpt of my artifact mystery here.
The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam was where I fell in love with Asmat carvings. My work as a collection assistant for an exhibition of bis poles directly inspired my novel. You can read more about the Tropenmuseum and why bis poles were desired by collectors here. The bis poles displayed in both the real exhibition and fake one described in my book, were stored in the depot of WereldMuseum in Rotterdam. You can read a short excerpt about Zelda’s first impressions of the artifacts here.
I admire your extensive research, and I loved Rituals of the Dead. best wishes!