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A Superb Old New Guinea Chiefs Ornaments Humboldt Bay area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia
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| Collection No. | TB-3129 |
|---|---|
| Size | Belt 59cm |
A Superb Old New Guinea Chiefs Ornaments Humboldt Bay area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia
This rare & beautiful set of traditional ornaments is from the Humboldt Bay Area on the North Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia. This set of chiefly ornaments came from a man in Humboldt Bay, he said they were his grandfather’s ornaments that they had sat unused for two generations and he wanted to sell them. They would then likely date from the mid-19th century or earlier. They consist of a finely woven belt decorated with Nassa shell & black seed beads, a shell ring necklace to match the belt, along with many earrings a nose ornament, and wrist ornaments. These were family heirlooms but they no longer had the traditional value they once had. Shell ornaments were an important type of traditional wealth that was held by families. Previously you could not marry without a significant shell wealth dowry that the young man’s family had to provide as payment to the young woman’s family.
This set of ornaments was one of two I field collected in 1986, the other set was sold to the John Freide Collection in New York and I retained this set for 34 years in my private collection of traditional ornaments. I kept the better set of the two. The set consists of twelve (12) ornaments and can only be sold as a set.
Published: “Adornment, exchange & myth in the South Seas: A personal journey through their material culture and magic. by Wolfgang Grulke 2022 Page
The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Art and West Papuan 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 in1996 (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.
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To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.
