Context (Production / use)
Kauage (c. 1944-2003) was born in Chimbu Province in the Papua New Guinea highlands. In the late 1960s he was employed as a labourer in Port Moresby and was inspired by an exhibition of drawings by a fellow-Highlander, Timothy Akis. Like Akis, he was encouraged and supported by Georgina Beier. Together with her husband Ulli, Georgina influentially fostered contemporary art, theatre, and literature in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea
Kauage's work evolved rapidly. Early on he drew fantastic creatures inspired by Chimbu myth, but soon progressed to scenes of Moresby town life and political events. Embracing colour, he went on to produce major paintings around Papua New Guinea's Independence in 1975, aspects of colonial history, and his own experience - not least his meeting with the Queen, who awarded him an OBE in 1998. His later works were often signed 'Kauage - Artist of PNG'.

Event Date 15/9/2009
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
Metal figure of a bird, one wing detached, but present.
Event Date 15/9/2009
Author: maa

Context (Field collection)
Collected and donated by Professor Dame Marilyn Stathern, William Wyseman Professor of Anthropology, 1993- 2008, Cambridge University, who conducted fieldwork in the PNG Highlands and in Port Moresby from the 1960s onward. Displayed in the donor’s rooms at Girton College.

Event Date 7/8/2024
Author: Rachel Hand

Conservation (Assessment Only)
CON.2024.6030 | Assessment Only
Event Date 26/9/2024
Author: Stephanie De Roemer