Jovo (door post)

For the Kanak peoples of New Caledonia, one of the main focuses for architectural sculpture are the doorways of their great round houses (meeting houses) with their lintel, sill, and side carvings. The large carved boards that flank the door, such as this one, are among the most striking works of Kanak art. These boards are usually called chambranles (door jambs) in French, but this is not their structural function. They stand in front of the doorway, holding the horizontal rods, which support the material of the walls, in place against the actual doorposts. Each meeting house has two of these boards, sometimes known as jovo, one on each side. They are seldom, if ever, an exact pair.

Materials and decoration techniques
Some stylistic variation in the sculptures and several regional styles have been identified in the architectural sculpture of New Caledonia. The large door carvings usually consist of an upper face with geometric design beneath, although in the southern region there is sometimes more than one face.

Significance
Great round houses were and are one of the most powerful symbols of New Caledonian Kanak society. They are meeting houses, and they reflect social organisation and the relationship between the clans and their chief. It is not surprising that they have provided a major vehicle for Kanak wood carving. This jovo is one of two large, similar jovo in the Oldman collection, perhaps from the same house, which appear to derive from the northern region of New Caledonia.