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Rare New Guinea Ceremonial Dance Mask Nggala People Swagap Village Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

A Rare New Guinea Ceremonial Dance Mask Nggala People Swagap Village Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

The beautiful and rare ceremonial Dance Mask is from the Nggala People of Swagap Village on the Upper Sepik River area in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. The mask is large at 137cm high, carved from a single piece of wood except for the attached bird effigy at the top.  This type of mask is rare & not many were ever collected.  Swagap village used to be called Nggala and that is how it is referred to by the late Douglas Newtown the former curator of Oceanic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York & formerly called The Museum of Primitive Art later incorporated into the Rockefeller Wing at The Metropolitan Museum did his fieldwork amongst the Nggala people in 1964, 1965, 1967.

According to Douglas Newton ” At that time he estimated that there were only 140 people living at Nggala (Swagap). Newton later published a book on his research “Crocodile & Cassowary 1971” by The Museum of Primitive Art.  The section about the Nggala in his book shows a similar mask at this example on page 49, the mask is made from bark except for the wood bird attached to the top.

These distinctive masks were made both in wood & bark and were used in the Mbangk Ceremony. The masks represented powerful local water spirits of their area, the masks were made in pairs and fastened back to back on the dancer who was in the middle of these masks. The dancer was painted black from head to foot and had a long grass skirt from his shoulders to the ground and he looked out through the holes in the mask’s eyes.

Douglas Newton writes “ The Mask was made in one section of the village but taken to another section to perform.; the mask represented a Water Spirit and consisted of two elongated masks fastened back-to-back and surmounted by the Hornbill carving. The masked dancer wore armbands & leg bands and he was painted black from head to foot and was covered with a long fibre skirt from shoulders to the ground. The mask fitted over his head and he could look out through the eyes of the mask. The masker had to be an elder man or an unmarried man.

The singing for the ceremony took place in the Ceremonial House and was accompanied by the beating of bamboo tubes on the ground. The ceremony began in the evening and continued through the night; in the morning the Mask emerged from the Ceremonial House and paraded through the village until mid-day. At the conclusion of the ceremony the masks were left in the village where the ceremony took place & the Hornbill Head was taken back to another village.”

Newton goes on in the section about the Nggala mythology

“a man of the Kokopfaniyan clan recognized the gong beaters of Dimbogela one of the Water Spirit masks of Wobi, the most important ritual was ganeb, the ritual beating of the slit gong drums restricted to important men who were homicides. They were initiated by being rubbed by nettle for this ceremony the sacred masks of the Water Spirits were brought out of the shelters where they were kept and displayed in the upper stories of the Ceremonial House. The slit gong drums represented the voices of the Water Spirits.

The Nggala had few contacts with Europeans before 1953 when the Australian Colonial officers started to visit regularly because of earlier headhunting raids that were to be extinguished by the Colonial administration.

Provenance: This fine mask was collected circa 1969-70.  I have had it in my personal collection for 35 years and have enjoyed it immensely over the years.

It was exhibited & published in the exhibition Oceanic Arts Pacifica at The Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Sydney in 2014. The exhibition was mainly for the Pacific Islander community that lives in Western Sydney & during the opening weekend, several thousand Pacific Island people came to dance & sing & enjoy the art exhibitions.  Published in the exhibition catalogue on page 55

You can see some photos of the mask in the exhibition space.

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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 Dayak Shield from Borneo Island Indonesia

A Superb Old Dayak Shield Borneo Island Indonesia 19th Century 

This finely carved & painted War Shield is from the Dayak People of Borneo Island Kalimantan Indonesia.

The Todd Barlin Collection of Dayak & Indonesia Tribal 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.

 

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 Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Ancestor Figure South Taiwan Formosa Island

A Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Ancestor Figure from Southern Taiwan from the Early 20th Century.  We specialize in the rare & beautiful art of the indigenous people of Taiwan.

This finely carved Ancestor Figure is from the Paiwan People or other closely related indigenous Formosan tribes from South Taiwan / Formosa Island.  Dating from the early 20th Century and showing deep old patina and wear from handling.   Carved from a single piece of hardwood and stands on a small square base that has a chip on one corner clearly seen in the photos.

The ancestor figure is a Paiwan Man who has been successful in hunting wild boar carried by tying the boar’s feet together and the animal becomes a backpack. The man is wearing a traditional Paiwan woven textile kilt and one hand likely once held a weapon like a spear or a sword.  The artist was highly skilled, and the proportions of the figure & the boar he is carrying are accurate but it is the sensitive face that shows the artist was able to capture the real emotion of their highly venerated ancestor.

I have included a couple of photos of similar hunting ancestor figures in public museum collections for reference.

Wild boar is an important part of the Paiwan traditional diet but it is also a recurring motif used on Paiwan art objects such as Chief’s House Lintels.

The Paiwan are one of several indigenous peoples living in the mountainous interior of Taiwan. Paiwan society is hierarchical, divided into high nobles, minor nobility, and commoners. In former times, only the high nobility was entitled to create or commission certain forms of human images, which portrayed important ancestors (tsmas). The ancestors, whose supernatural influence was controlled by the nobility, had the power to either help or harm the community, depending on whether their spirits received proper respect through ritual observances and offerings. The houses of Paiwan nobles were both the physical and artistic centres of ancestral power and imagery. The remains of noble ancestors were buried within the houses of their descendants, and their images adorned the doorways, house posts, and other architectural elements.

I have been collecting Oceanic Art for 40 years and have always been fascinated with Paiwan & other Taiwan Indigenous tribes’ art as they are the known ancestors of the ancient Polynesians. The Taiwan Indigenous tribe’s art styles have connections & influences on not only Polynesian Art but also on Southeast Asian Art and through Indonesia & island of New Guinea.

Provenance: Lin Tien Wang Collection who was working with Paiwan Villages in the early 1930s

The Todd Barlin Collection of  New Guinea Art & Oceanic and Asian Art

 

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 Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Carved Tray South Taiwan Late 19th Century

A Fine Old Paiwan Tribe Carved Tray South Taiwan Late 19th Century. We specialize in the rare & beautiful art of the indigenous people of Taiwan.

This finely carved chief’s offering tray is from the Paiwan People of South Taiwan / Formosa Island.  Dating from the late 19th to very early 20th Century and showing deep old patina and wear.   The tray was likely used to offer Betel Nut to guests.  Carved from a single piece of wood in a rectangular form which is decorated on the inside bottom with two Hundred-Pacer Snakes (Agkistrodon acutus) which is an important clan motif in which one of the major characters in Paiwan mythology, and is generally considered to be the pro-creator of the Paiwan Nobility. On the bottom of the tray, all four sides are deeply incised Paiwan clan designs, on either end of the tray are again two entwined Hundred-Pacer Snakes, and on the longer sides are two Deer nose to nose and below them is a single head which is relating to the Paiwan being once fierce headhunters.

The Paiwan are one of several indigenous peoples living in the mountainous interior of Taiwan. Paiwan society is hierarchical, divided into high nobles, minor nobility, and commoners. In former times, only the high nobility was entitled to create or commission certain forms of human images, which portrayed important ancestors (tsmas). The ancestors, whose supernatural influence was controlled by the nobility, had the power to either help or harm the community, depending on whether their spirits received proper respect through ritual observances and offerings. The houses of Paiwan nobles were both the physical and artistic centres of ancestral power and imagery. The remains of noble ancestors were buried within the houses of their descendants, and their images adorned the doorways, house posts, and other architectural elements.

I have been collecting Oceanic Art for 40 years and have always been fascinated with Paiwan & other Taiwan Indigenous tribes’ art as they are the known ancestors of the ancient Polynesians. The Taiwan Indigenous tribe’s art styles have connections & influences on not only Polynesian Art but also on Southeast Asian Art and through Indonesia & island of New Guinea.

Provenance:  This fine tray came from the collection of the family of Lin Tien Wang who was working with Paiwan Villages in the early 1930s.

The Todd Barlin Collection of  New Guinea Art & Oceanic and Asian Art

 

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 Fine Dayak Medicine Container & stopper Borneo Indonesia

A Fine Dayak Medicine Container & Stopper Borneo Indonesia.  We specialize in the rare & beautiful antique arts of the Dayak Peoples of Borneo 

This beautiful small Medicine Gourd with carved Stopper in the form of an Aso mythical animal from the Dayak people on the island of Borneo in Indonesia.  Dating from the early to mid-20th Century.  I had recently seen a similar Medicine Gourd in a Museum collection that had good information about this type of Medicine Container. I will try to find it again & update this information.  The Dayak carve superb small-scale artworks like this container & Amulets & Charm Figures ( I have a collection of these that I will one day sell as a collection.

The Dallas Fine Art Museum with a superb Indonesian Art Collection describes the Aso mythical animal :

” A prominent and widespread theme of the art of Borneo is a mythical animal that combines attributes of the dog and dragon in a single creature called aso. This animal signifies protection and status, and the use of the image is traditionally restricted to the upper class. The animals’ notched tails indicate that the objects functioned as supports for a horizontal member that together comprised either a low table or bench. The dogs, two of an original group of four sculptures, would have faced outward at the corners, their tails supporting the horizontal member with pegs or dowels. In Kayan culture, low tables were the prerogative of the elite. The tables are said to commemorate the prowess of the Kayan warrior and they functioned to receive ritual offerings. ”

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection Of Dayak & Indonesian Art

 

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 Pair of Ancestor Figures from Aitos Area East Timor

A Superb Old Pair of Ancestor Figures from Aitos Area East Timor

The fine old pair of male and Female Ancestor Figures are from the Aitos Area of East Timor in SE Asia.  Dating from the early 20th century this distinct style of the Aitos figures area is part of a larger corpus of Ancestor Worship and Art stretching all the way through SE Asia and the Indonesian archipelago and into the island of New Guinea.

Ancestor posts like these played a significant role in rituals that honoured ancestral spirits who presided over the land and instructed the Tetum people on all areas of daily life; the raising of cattle, agriculture, hunting & fishing and architecture. The ancestors are made visible by these carved figures who pass on the traditions to the living.  They also watch over their descendants to ensure that their customs are carefully followed and punishing those who fail to conform to the ancient traditions. Offerings to ancestral spirits were placed on stone slabs near the ancestral figures or on the actual figures sometimes adorning them with textiles or traditional ornaments.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection of Indonesian & 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.

 

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 Keram River Ancestor Figure East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Keram River Ancestor Figure East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

This superb old Ancestor Figure is from the Keram River area a tributary of the Sepik River in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. This figure is dating from the late 19th to the early 20th Century. It’s unique iconography of a father carrying his son on his back.  I looked at this sculpture for a long time trying to see if I was seeing it correctly, possibly a double ancestor figure but I keep coming back to the idea that it is a father carrying his son on his back.

The Keram River area has a unique style of art out of the many other Sepik river cultures close by.

Carved from a single piece of hardwood and it never had a flat base to stand up independently as many early Sepik Figures are. The front view is a standing male ancestor with elongated almost vertical eyes, the nose is pierced and has a fiber string through the septum, and the elongated head suggests he might be wearing a hair ornament.  The reverse side of this figure looks like the normal back view of the ancestor figure except for the male child that appears to be riding piggyback style but facing outwards as when people carry their kids in a backpack-type carrier.

The German Anthropologist Richard Thurnwald (1869–1954) joined the expedition in January of 1913 and was assigned the Töpferfluss, known today as the Keram River.  He reported on the many types of artworks made in this area, especially the superb feather mosaics that were arranged into large-scale assemblages inside the men’s ceremonial houses for the initiation ceremonies of young men.  See the fine article and photos in the Tribal Art Magazine by By Valentin Boissonnas in Winter 2018.

There are many types of sculptures that are termed ” Maternity Figures”  being a mother & child, this is a common artistic theme in all cultures including the Sepik River cultures but as far as I have seen this is a unique sculpture of a father and son.  The many times I visited villages all over New Guinea & West Papua I often saw fathers carrying their children & holding them in a tender loving manner.

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

 

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 Fine Old Collection of 58 Clay & Metal Buddhist Votives Burma Myanmar 18th -19th Century

A Superb Collection of  58 Clay & Metal Buddhist Votives Burma Myanmar,18th -19th Century

In Burma Myanmar, clay & metal votives were widely made & used by devote Buddhists who believe that making these images builds spiritual merit. Clay votive tablets of the Buddha and Buddhist images represent a significant element of the archaeological record of early Buddhist sites in Southeast Asia including Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

Bronze molds were used to make clay images that were stamped out & sun-dried & then individually painted with gold or silver. They were made in many different types some of the Buddha’s and scenes of the historical Buddha’s life, Bodhisattva’s, and other deities.

This collection I made over 40 years buying one or two good examples at a time.  The collection shows the many different styles of these clay & metal votives and the fine detail that the artists were able to accomplish.  Votives were also used to fill the inside a Pagoda or Shrine, others were kept as memories of visits to important Buddhist Shrines or temples. In Thailand & Burma, ancient clay votives are highly regarded as protection & worn in metal-cased necklaces.
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of  Buddhist and Asian  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.

 

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 Fine Old Amulet Figure West Nepal late 19th – Early 20th Century

A Fine Old Amulet Figure West Nepal late 19th – Early 20th Century

This sweet little carved wood figure of a male ancestor was used as a personal amulet by the people of Western Nepal.  When you pick this little figure up in your hands you instantly see that this has been cared for and handled for a very long time.  The figure shows its hands held to its stomach or perhaps is holding his penis.  The figure has a  deep reddish-black patina from long use.

Ancestor worship and personal home shrines are common in the remote areas of Western Nepal, it is only in recent years that many artworks from this part of Nepal have been shown around the world. The heavily eroded ancestor figures that guard bridges are the better know artworks from this area.

This small sculpture has given me a lot of enjoyment just having it around to pick up and admire. I never get tired of looking at it.  Now is the time to let this fine little figure go to a new home where hopefully it will be greatly enjoyed for many years.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Asian Art

 

A Superb New Guinea Humboldt Bay Tapa Bark Cloth Painting West Papua

A Superb New Guinea Humboldt Bay Tapa Bark Cloth Painting West Papua

This superb large Tapa Bark Cloth Painting from the Humboldt Bay area on the Northwest Coast of West Papua.

The beautiful painting is of a powerful sea spirit which features in the mythology of the Humbold Bay area.

Made from a single long piece of tree bark taken from the paper mulberry tree that is then pounded flat through a traditional process that is used throughout the island of New Guinea, the rest of Melanesia & Polynesia.

The Tapa Cloths from Lake Sentani and Humboldt Bay in N.W. Irian Jaya is locally known as Maro Smo.

Early accounts of the local people making and wearing decorated Tapa Cloth are sketchy, but it seems that married women wore Tapa Skirts which were decorated with designs.  An early photograph by the ethnographer Paul Wirtz in 1926 shows a large painted Tapa Cloth displayed next to the grave of a young woman.

The Tapa designs that the outside world usually associates with Lake Sentani and Humboldt Bay, were collected in the 1920s and 1930s.

There is evidence to suggest that the manufacture of painted Tapa Cloths during this period, was stimulated by European interest in collecting them. In 1929 Jacques Viot, the French surrealist author and art dealer made a trip to the area and collected a number of Tapa cloth that were later exhibited in Paris. These works of art had a great impact on the Paris art scene at that time. Many early 20th Century artists such as Picasso and Joan Miro were influenced by these Tapa paintings.

This is a very fine example Tapa Cloth painting, the artist went to a huge amount of effort to first strip a large tree & prepare the Tapa Bark Cloth before painting the designs.  The designs painted in white, black & red ochre are painted by a very confident artist.