"This is a pre-contact, stone-carved adze from the Arapesh or Boiken people who live in the coastal Prince Alexander Mountains near Sassoya Mission Station. I have seen and collected a number of these pre-contact examples that have two ancestral heads carved at the top. This is the only one I have seen with the addition of a row of such faces going down the handle. Admittedly the faces are rudimentary but their archaic presence comes through. In addition, the clam shell blade is intact on this adze. The piece is 23 ¼" in length, dates to the late 19th/early 20th century. sold