Papua New Guinean Middle Fly River Arrow with Serrated Tip

A pale, needle-sharp point above a shaft studded with scale-like black and orange diamonds.

This arrow with a serrated tip is from Middle Fly River, Western Province, Papua New Guinea. It is bamboo & pigment. Natural pigments such as ochre and charcoal are commonly used in New Guinea to color weapons and ornaments, and painted designs often carry local meaning. A slender whitish tip rises from a rough, dark wrapped section. Below that the shaft is carved into overlapping scale shapes, picked out in black and burnt orange, and tapering to a darker base. It is 58.5 inches high.

Pattern work this tidy deserved better than a rough job.