Art For Sale Archive - Page 17 of 49 - Oceanic Arts Australia

A Fine Old New Guinea Ancestor Figure Massim Culture Milne Bay Province New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Ancestor Figure Massim Culture Milne Bay Province New Guinea

This fine Massim Ancestor Figure carving is from the Milne Bay Province in the Eastern end of Papua New Guinea. This artwork was made for sale or trade with Europeans and probably dates from WW2 or slightly earlier. The carving of a male ancestor is unusual in that shows the male genitals, the early Missionaries in Milne Province discouraged anatomical correct carvings and you see most of the artworks from the early 20th Century are all without genitals. It’s interesting if the carver of this figure was not particularly ” Christian minded “and didn’t care about offending anyone or just was being slightly provocative. The artist was a highly skilled carver who not only made a very beautifully proportioned figure he also decorated it with deeply incised spiral designs that the Massim artists are well known for.

Culturally the Milne Bay region is referred to as “the Massim,” a term originating from the name of Misima Island but is used to describe the artworks from the whole province made of 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited.

The regional trading systems of the islands around the eastern end of New Guinea are called Kula and are particularly elaborate trading systems where men had lifetime trading partners and social obligations and shell ornaments and cultural objects that constantly moved between communities.

The Massim artists are well known for their beautiful artworks such as Canoe Ornaments and their amazing Lime Spatulas used when chewing betel nut. The Massim is one of my favorite art styles as their art is non-aggressive and also reminds me of the art of Lake Sentani an area in West Papua where I spent a lot of time.

Provence: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY showing the Museums and Art Galleries Exhibitions that I provided artworks for over the past 40 years. There is the link to the article about my artworks published in the prestigious Louvre Magazine in 1996

I have artwork 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 neighbors.

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

Two Superb Old Maori Orators Staffs Tokotoko New Zealand Polynesia19th Century

Two Superb Old Maori Orators Staffs Tokotoko from New Zealand 19th Century Polynesian Art

These two superbly carved old Maori Orator Staffs called Tokotoko, are a common sight among Māori and are most frequently seen on the paepae of mārae, or at formal occasions where a kaikōrero (orator) is required. Tokotoko is most frequently carried by an orator, skilled in the arts of whaikōrero, karakia, and storytelling.

Tokotoko usually draws the attention of a viewer due to the whakairo or carvings that frequently adorn them. These carvings usually depict a representation of an ancestor who is usually of direct significance to the person who carries it, representing their whakapapa or clan genealogy, and therefore their authority or right to speak. Some tokotoko, in the absence of a direct representation of genetic lineage, will often depict a story of personal significance to the owner or their iwi (tribe) as another way of representing whakapapa, however in most instances, whakapapa is the connecting common factor of all tokotoko.

Left: A Fine Maori Orator staff with a well-carved Ancestor Figure near the handle and another midway down the staff both with pearl-shell eyes, the spiral motifs covering most of the surface were carved by a very confident master carver.

Right: A Fine Maori Orators Staff with a well-carved Ancestor Figure in “acrobat style” near the handle and another face midway down the staff both the figure and the face have pearl-shell eyes, the spiral motifs covering most of the surface were carved a very confident master carver.

These artworks have a fine custom-made stand so they can be displayed on the floor or on a table

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Polynesian Art

Please have a look at my EXHIBITIONS Gallery https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/about/exhibition-and-publications/ which shows many of the exhibitions & public Museums & Art Galleries I have worked with in the past.

My Gallery of nearly 40 years is the last physical gallery in Sydney that specializes in New Guinea and 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 neighbors.

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.

A Superb Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure Lower Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure Lower Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

This fine old used Basket Hook Figure is from the Coastal Sepik area in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. Carved in the form of a standing male ancestor, his legs are slightly bent and his hands held to his hips. The way that the legs and arms are positioned gives the figure a feeling of movement. The shoulders are positioned unnaturally on the front of the body and that is one of the most delightful aspects of Sepik artists, their artworks can be surreal.

At the base of the figure, there are remnants of a hook that were either missing or never fully carved, there is still enough of a hook to hang a traditional string bilum bag. Basket hooks were used to hang from the ceiling by a rope and string bags of food or other important objects that then could not be reached by rats or mice. A simple effective technology used by cultures around the world. The surface of this figure has a small dimpled carving & marking of traditional rasps and a nice aged patina.

Sepik River artists made many beautiful unitarian art objects that were both functional and a way of honouring and making visible their ancestors on a daily basis.

Basket Hook Figures have always been a favourite type of artwork for me to collect, they are some of the most beautiful objects made in the Sepik River area and have so much variation in forms & style.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Private Collection of Oceanic Art

A Superb New Guinea Waskuk Ritual Pottery Head Kwoma People Upper Sepik River PNG

A Superb New Guinea Waskuk Ritual Pottery Head Kwoma People Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

This Ceremonial Pottery Head is from the Kwoma People in the Waskuk Area of the Upper Sepik River area of the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. It was collected in the 1960s & is really the finest Kwoma Pottery Head I have ever owned.

These Pottery Heads called Wasau were used during these Yam Harvest Ceremonies on the ceremonial platforms. These pottery heads relate to a specific myth about an ancestor called Sopermel who carried a Wasau in his belly.

See: The Traditional Pottery of Papua New Guinea by May & Tuckson 1982 page 218 for the full story as recorded by Christian Kauffmann.

Ritual leaders organize the Yina ceremony at yam harvest time. The next two ceremonies feature their own sculpted images of Mindja and Nokwi and must also be performed before the full harvest and consumption beings.

Older ritual objects are hidden in garden huts, away from the village. They have acquired power over time and through use. For the annual ceremony both old and new objects are freshly painted. They are firstly covered in black paint and left to dry. Only on the final day before the ceremony are the other colours; red, yellow, and white added.

The ceremony takes place inside the men’s Ceremonial house (korob) A platform is built, and while one major Yina figure is displayed as a focus, other Yina’s and Wasau pottery heads are used. The pottery heads are particularly beautiful when displayed on the ceremonial platform.

Slit gong drums are played and songs of myth relating to the yam harvest are sung. At the finish of the ceremony, the cult objects are wrapped tightly in sheaths from the black palm and returned to the garden hut.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Private Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

REFERENCES:

Bowden, Ross	Yena: Art and Ceremony In a Sepik Society	Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford 1983
Newton, Douglas	Crocodile & Cassowary	Museum of Primitive Art, NY.
Wardwell, Allen	Island Ancestors Oceanic Art form the Masco Collection	University of Washington Press 1994

May & Tuckson: The Traditional Pottery of Papua New Guinea by Bay Books Sydney 1982

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.

A Superb Old Japanese Tengu Mask from Japan 19th Century

A Superb Old Japanese Tengu Mask from the 19th Century

This superb old Tengu Mask is from Japan and was carved in the 19th Century. The artist was a master carver who could take a piece of wood and turn it into a powerful artwork that looks alive. This mask is a favourite of mine and I never get tired of looking at it as it is a great sculpture.

The Tengu or “Heavenly Sentinel” is a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion. They are considered a type of yōkai (supernatural beings) or Shinto kami (gods). The tengu was originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics. The earliest Tengu was pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is widely considered the Tengo’s defining characteristic. They are also thought to be parallel to the Garuda, a legendary bird or bird-like creature in Hindu, and Buddhist mythology, and influenced by Sarutahiko Ōkami, a native Shinto deity.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Private Collection of Asian and Oceanic Art

A Superb Old Vanuatu Malekula Island Ceremonial Mask Vanuatu

A Superb Old Vanuatu Malekula Island Ceremonial Mask Vanuatu

This beautiful ceremonial Mask was field collected in South West Malekula Island in 1986. Malekula is one of the islands that make up the country of Vanuatu formerly known pre-independence as The New Hebrides.

The Mask is made from a bamboo frame and covered in a vegetable fibre paste that goes hard after mixing. The hanging part at the back is made of spider webs. This can be worn as a mask as seen in the field photo or in a ceremonial display

In SW Malekula Island these masks and faces are known as “Temes Nevimbur” they are used during important ceremonies by members of a secret society, also called “Nevimbur”. They are seen from behind the fence which is a sacred area. Many of these ceremonies celebrate the attainment of higher status within the secret societies known as “grade taking ” or taking of a higher title. Merit rather than birth determines the grade or rank of an individual within these societies. A man with strong determination can be elevated over a lifetime to the status of a living deity. Pigs are crucial to obtaining the higher status for the highest levels of the secret society, dozens of full circle tusked pigs are needed to be sacrificially killed on a single occasion to take the next level or grade within the society.

Malekula Island Artworks are one of my personal favourites’ out of all Oceanic Art and I was extremely lucky to have seen them in use in the village setting. The people I stayed with there were extremely warm and kind & generous.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Private Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art.

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

A Superb Collection of Old New Guinea Stone Axes from different areas of Papua New Guinea (sizes 26cm – 38cm) 19th Century or much older

A Superb Collection of Old New Guinea Stone Axes from different areas of Papua New Guinea (sizes 26cm – 38cm) 19th Century or much older

This collection of old Stone Axe Heads was selected solely for the beautiful shapes and colours of the stone. All are old and could be even hundreds of years old. These are my favourite Stone Axes collected over 40 years. Displayed together they look like modern sculptures by Brancusi.
Stone Axes are the most important human technology that allowed people to build houses & gardens. They were made by specialists in areas with good stone around. They are shaped by hand using friction. The stones were made in elegant forms and were highly valued traded long distances.
I have information about almost every stone; the ones on either end are rare Ceremonial Stones made in the Torres Strait & traded to the people on Kiwai Island where they were used a grave & ceremonial maker.

The large beautiful Stone Axe in the middle is a deep green colour and is from the Western Highlands Province Papua New Guinea Size 38cm x 15cmNext right of the middle is the finest Wealth

Axe from the Massim Culture, Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea Size 25.5cm x 13.5cm

The two Ancient Stone Axe, East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea Size 35cm x 9cm

A Large Stone Axe Western Highlands Province Papua New Guinea Size 33.5cm x 19cm

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Private Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art.

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

A Superb New Guinea Ancestor Figure Murik Lakes East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Superb New Guinea Ancestor Figure Murik Lakes East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

This beautiful old female Ancestor Figure is from the Murik Lakes area in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea and dating from the early 20th Century.

Beautifully carved in the form of a strong young woman in full health, with a warm expression on her face. She is standing facing forward with her arms held to her sides with hands resting on her hips, she is wearing a dog’s teeth necklace around her neck which is an important traditional currency & bridal dowry in New Guinea. Both her ears & nose are all pierced, and once held fibre attachments. The figure has a deep honey-colored patina from long handling.

In the Sepik River societies, each community had carved wood figures which were associated with specific ancestors, these were important ceremonial figures each figure had its own personal name. Ancestor figures were an important part of a community’s spiritual well-being, they offered protection from malevolent forces and help to ensure fertility for gardens growing large yams and taro as food sources.

Kathleen Barlow In the Journal de la Société des Océanistes 146 | 2018 explains further

“Kandimboang is a generic term for carved wooden figures in both male and female human form. They vary greatly in size from under 6 inches in height to standing figures 5-6’ tall or more. The smaller ones may be gai masok, but larger ones are also used to invoke spiritual power from specific male and female spirits, mythic figures, and ancestors in curing rituals in the men’s house, and at initiations. Jari is an important female mythic figure in the region who came to the Murik Lakes from the West bearing outrigger canoe technology and gave knowledge of how to give birth to women (Lutkehaus, 1995; von Poser, 2014; Z’Graggen, 2011). These objects are kept in the women’s (Tamoane, 1977) and men’s houses – the former being a larger-than-usual dwelling house and deployed on certain occasions to call forth the spiritual presence and influence of the entities whom they represent.

Because kandimboang require skill and conscious intention, and even spiritual inspiration to create, they are treated with respect and care. Figures with a long, hooked noses are spirit figures, while those with more human noses are meant to represent actual humans or spirits in their human form. Nevertheless, apart from their deployment under certain circumstances (offerings made, words spoken to call forth presence and empowerment), the wooden figures are neutral material objects much of the time. On the other hand, to avoid unintentionally or negatively bringing forth their power, custodians of named figures keep them in special bags or bark containers in secluded places (such as the rafters or the back of the house). Their beneficent influence is dependent on treating them with respect, which includes refurbishing their ornamentation for proper display and offering them food, tobacco, and betel nut. The figures are brought out on occasions when their support, as representatives of ancestral and contemporary spiritual presence, is important to the success of an undertaking “.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

A Superb Old New Guinea Ceremonial Lime Container Middle Sepik River Papua New Guinea

This Superb Ceremonial Lime Container from the Iatmul People in the middle Sepik River area of the East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea.

Ceremonial Lime Containers like this example are called “Bandi Na Iavo “in the Iatmul Language. The Iatmul people and most people in the Sepik River area chew betel nuts from the Areca Palm. Betel is chewed with lime made from burnt and crushed seashells and mustard leaves (Piper sp). Chewing Betel nut is a mild stimulant such as smoking or coffee & people use it throughout their lifetime.

This type of finely carved Ceremonial Lime Container was presented to newly initiated boys by their maternal uncles to mark their newly achieved status as men. It was used to chew betel during important traditional ceremonies.

The Lime Container finial is adorned with important clan ancestral totems, in this example, the finial is a rooster – a bird admired in the Sepik for both its brilliant plumage and sexual vigor, here, the bird balances on the head of a crocodile, an important ancestral totem

The tops of these containers have a hole for the insertion of the lime spatula to get lime from the container and into one’s mouth to mix with the betel nut. The Spatula that was used often has carved ridges all down its length & when used men can stick the spatula into the Lime Container making a loud scraping percussion noise that is thought to be the voices of ancestral spirits.

Sepik River artists have produced some of the most beautiful & imaginative artworks ever made by any culture. When you see these artworks well displayed in the homes of collectors or in the vast space for Oceanic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or at The Musee du Quai Branly in Paris they are outstanding.

For a similar Iatmul Ceremonial Lime Container with the same iconography see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they date theirs to 19^th to early 20^th Century https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/313645

Provenance: Collected before 1940. The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art

Four Fine Old Chinese Burlwood Figures of Buddhist Saints or Lohan China 19th Century

Four Fine Old Carved Burlwood Figures of Buddhist Saints or Lohan from China 19th Century

These four beautiful burlwood carved figures of the Buddhist Saint Lohan also known as Arhats. Lohans are followers of the Buddha who reached enlightenment but have not yet attained the higher state of nirvana. Lohan is the Chinese name, Arhat is the Sanskrit, and Rakan is the Japanese all for the same person. These were likely carved in the early to mid 19th century and the use of root wood or burlwood was very popular in China during this time.

The Eighteen Arhats or Lohan are depicted in Mahayana Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha (arhat) who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the state of Nirvana and are free of worldly cravings. They are charged to protect the Buddhist faith and to wait on earth for the coming of Maitreya, an enlightened Buddha prophesied to arrive on earth many millennia after Gautama Buddha’s death In China, the eighteen arhats are also a popular subject in Buddhist art,

Originally, the arhats were composed of only 10 disciples of Gautama Buddha, although the earliest Indian sutras indicate that only 4 of them, Pindola, Kundadhana, Panthaka, and Nakula, were instructed to await the coming of Maitreya.

Later this number increased to sixteen to include patriarchs and other spiritual adepts. Teachings about the Arhats eventually made their way to China where they were called Lohan (羅漢, shortened from a-luo-han a Chinese transcription for Arhat),

A cult built around the Lohans as guardians of the Buddhist faith gained momentum amongst Chinese Buddhists at the end of the ninth century for they had just been through a period of great persecution under the reign of Emperor Tang Wuzong

In Chinese art, Rootwood objects have always been regarded as “sculptures” with each piece being unique in form; Rootwood sculptures have been collected by the Chinese as early as the Song Dynasty. Rootwood was especially appealing to scholars because of its often-eccentric shapes and movements, which enabled the mind to form various interpretations of its pictorial possibilities.”

The Qianlong Emperor was a great admirer of the Lohan and many images such as these were made for Burlwood.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Asian Buddhist Art

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.

Archives: Art For Sale

A Fine Old New Guinea Ancestor Figure Massim Culture Milne Bay Province New Guinea

Two Superb Old Maori Orators Staffs Tokotoko New Zealand Polynesia19th Century

A Superb Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure Lower Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

A Superb New Guinea Waskuk Ritual Pottery Head Kwoma People Upper Sepik River PNG

INQUIRE HERE

A Superb Old Japanese Tengu Mask from Japan 19th Century

A Superb Old Vanuatu Malekula Island Ceremonial Mask Vanuatu

A Superb Collection of Old New Guinea Stone Axes from different areas of Papua New Guinea (sizes 26cm – 38cm) 19th Century or much older

A Superb New Guinea Ancestor Figure Murik Lakes East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Ceremonial Lime Container Middle Sepik River Papua New Guinea

Four Fine Old Chinese Burlwood Figures of Buddhist Saints or Lohan China 19th Century

INQUIRE HERE

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