A Superb Old New Guinea Food Bowl Boiken People East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Food Bowl Boiken People in the Prince Alexander Mountain Area in the  East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea

This beautiful old food bowl is from the Boiken People / Culture who live in the Prince Alexander Mountain Area in the East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea. The bowl is called Huamp in the Boiken language

This old bowl is carved in a deep oval shape and has a finely carved totemic Lizard Figure in high relief on the outside of the bowl.  It is a very beautiful Sculpture.

Usually, Boiken Bowls are of circular form and shallow so this example is a rare form and has a dark old patina from long use and handling.  Old Bowls were often family heirlooms passed down through generations.

Bowls are something important that all cultures made and used throughout the world and time, they were necessary for humans to gather & prepare and serve food.

The bowl, a simple material object, is a basic domestic tool in most cultures of the world. It reveals much about the preparation, storage, presentation, and consumption of food – the whole cultural history of eating. The design and decoration of bowls also carry cultural meaning. Bowls often have a significant role in various rituals, often forming the link between daily life and the world of mythology.

Boiken & other Sepik River cultures made many beautiful unitarian art objects like Bowls that were both functional and a way of honoring and making visible their ancestors on a daily basis.

Field collected in the 1980s and artwork has been displayed in my home for 35 years, it’s such a beautiful object I never get tired of looking at it.  On a fine custom-made stand to make it easy to display on a table or shelf.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

I first went to Papua New Guinea in 1985 for an adventure & what I found was that I really enjoyed being with the people of New Guinea, over the next 38 years I spent extensive time spent collecting and documenting traditional art & ceremonies in remote areas of Papua New Guinea & West Papua, The Solomon Islands & Vanuatu & the other Pacific Islands countries. During these travels, I made major collections of New Guinea & Oceanic Art for major Museums and Public Art Galleries

I was honoured by being in the prestigious Louvre Museum Magazine for the collections I made for The Museum of African & Oceanic Art Paris in 1996 (now the Musee Quai Branly) for the exhibition “Asmat et Mimika d’ Irian Jaya April 1996 At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE, Paris

See all of the links & photos in my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY and there is the link to the article in the prestigious Louvre Magazine 1996

I have artwork for Museums & 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 specialises in New Guinea & Oceanic Art. Sydney is just a couple hours’ flight to New Guinea & the Pacific Islands where all of these amazing artworks came from, Australia’s closest neighbours.

INQUIRE HERE

If you have a similar “object” for sale please contact me for the best price and honest advice by a Government approved valuer 

To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.

For all inquiries, please contact us.