A Superb Old New Guinea Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection
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| Collection No. | SOLD - but see lots more Fine Oceanic & Aboriginal Art on my website |
|---|---|
| Size | Size 145cm x 57cm |
A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Jamasj Asmat People Mbuagani Village Remote NW Asmat Area, South Coast West Papua (Indonesia)
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This fine old shield was carved by an Asmat master carver or Wow Ipitsj who is an important person in the Asmat society, not only are they artists but ritual experts who bridge the living with their ancestors through ceremonial artworks including shields.
The main designs down the center of the shield are called Tar or Flying Foxes which are related to ritualized headhunting in times past. The designs on this shield are executed solely from the artist’s memory, he would have learned from watching a previous master carver. The elegant form of the shield is rounded at the top and bottom and with an expressive face of a totemic turtle or Mbu carved at the top. The way the design is spatially placed on the front looks like it is dancing across the shield, there is great movement in the designs.
The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy. Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.
The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created. For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.
Field Collected by Todd Barlin in 1985-86, at this time Mbuagani Village was a very remote place and the people had little contact with the outside world and they spoke virtually no Bahasa Indonesia, it is a long way to visit this very small village.
No missionaries had tried to convert them as the Maryknoll Catholic Father Vincent Cole who arrived in Sawa Erma in 1980 wanted them to come to it in their own choice and time.
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art / Field Collected in 1985-86 See my Biograpohy Here https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/art-for-sale/oceanic-art-society-interview-by-margaret-cassidy/
Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 31 (below)
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I have artworks for Museums and art Galleries but also for collectors at every stage of their collecting. I want to encourage people to explore the fine art of New Guinea & West Papua and the Pacific Islands and to be able to see and touch the artworks in a relaxed and friendly manner in my Sydney Gallery. I would like to invite you to visit my gallery and see the artworks in person and also look at my website www.oceanicartsaustralia.com where there are many Galleries & Sub Galleries to explore.
My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and Oceanic Art. Sydney is very close to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbours.
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