Art For Sale
This old and finely carved Door is from the Toraja People from the mountain areas of South Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. Carved in high relief with the head of a water buffalo. Water Buffalo are very important animals for the Toraja people, some ceremonies dozens of large water buffalo are killed and the meet divided between different clans & villages. This door dates from late 19th Century.
A Fine Old New Guinea Wood Head Yangoru Boiken Area East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea
This finely carved and painted wood head called Idap was used in Yam Harvest ceremonies that are at the heart of the Abelam Boiken Cultures. One of the major focuses of ceremonial life among the Abelam people of northeast New Guinea is the competitive growth and exchange of long yams. The Abelam cultivate two distinct categories of yams—a small variety used as ordinary food and long yams, massive tubers that can be as much as twelve feet long. A man’s social status is determined largely by his success in growing long yams. Each man has a permanent exchange partner to whom he ceremonially presents his largest yams
following the annual harvest, later receiving those of his rival in return. Men who are consistently able to give their partners longer yams than they receive gain great prestige. Lavishly adorned for the presentation ceremony, the finest long yams are essentially transformed into human images, decorated in the manner of men in full ceremonial regalia. The “heads” of the enormous tubers are adorned with specially made yam masks such as this one, which is made exclusively for yams and is never worn by humans.
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.
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 Nepalese Antique Wood Phurba & Drum Handles Western Nepal 19th Century
This collection of 25 Phurba & Shamanic Drum Handles was collected over a long period, once I had a few I could see how beautiful they looked together as a group. Each Phurba is a small sculptural masterpiece but together they are something more amazing.
See my other fine antique Asian & Buddhist Art here: https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/asian-art/
In the Kathmandu Valley, the Phurba is still in use by shamans, tantrism, and lamas of different ethnic backgrounds. The Phurba is used particularly intensively by the Tamang, Gurung and Newar peoples. The Phurba is also employed by the Tibetans native to Nepal the Sherpas, and the Tibetans living in Dharamsala. The Phurba is also used in religious rituals in Bhutan, and can most often be found in the temples and altars of Bhutan.
The Phurba is a three-sided peg, stake, knife, or nail-like ritual that is deeply rooted in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Bön traditions. Its primary association is with the meditational deity Vajrakīlaya (Dorje Phurba), embodying the essence of transformative power. The etymology and historical context of the term reveal some debate. Both the Sanskrit word “kīla” and the Tibetan “Phurba” are used interchangeably in sources.
The construction of the Phurba is diverse, featuring a pommel, handle, and a blade with three triangular facets. The composition often revolves around the numerological significance of three and nine, with materials ranging from wood and metal to bone and crystal. Phurba blades can be made from meteoric iron, which holds symbolic importance. The pommel typically displays the faces of Vajrakīlaya or other sacred motifs. These implements a spiritual tools, embodying stability and energetic continuity.
The Phurba’s ritual usage is extensive and encompasses various practices. It is used to establish stability during ceremonies and symbolizes powerful attributes of Vajrayana deities. The Phurba’s energy is fierce and transfixing, used for purposes such as exorcism, weather manipulation, meditation, and blessings. The implement’s connection with Vajrakilaya represents the transmutation of negative energies.
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asia 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 neighbours.
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 Austral Islands Dance Paddle Austral Islands Polynesia 19th Century Circa 1880s
This finely carved 19th Century Dance Paddle is from the Austral Islands which are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia.
Carved from a single piece of medium wood the tiny chip-carved designs cover the entire surface on both sides of the paddle and the finial is carved with seven fine Tiki heads in a circle. This Dance Paddle is in nearly perfect condition which is rare, it is dating from the 1870-1880 period when these were made for trade with visiting European ships that occasionally stopped by the islands for fresh water. In the pre-European contact era, there were likely similar Dance Paddles made and used for traditional ceremonies and as objects of prestige.
According to the expert on these paddles: Rhys Richards in The Tribal Arts Magazine (2012, pp 141 – 145),
“Though widely called ‘paddles,’ these objects are not functional paddles. They are ‘paddle shaped,’ but their sizes are too extreme; their shafts are too weak, and they are thoroughly unsuitable for use as paddles. Consequently, it has been assumed that they were emblems of rank or status, for ceremonial rather than functional use. But an exhaustive survey of the historical sources, has confirmed that there are no known eye-witness accounts of their use or function. No local name is recorded for them, anywhere, before 1890, though they are sometimes called ‘hoe‘ after the Tahitian word for paddle. Most Austral Island paddles are dated roughly between 1820 – 1840, mostly made probably on the Island of Raivavae, and are generally described as made for trade items, with their original use being treated as something of a mystery. Their form varies depending mainly on length, with longer paddles in excess of 120cm generally considered the most elegant. The pommel is encircled by 11 protruding heads tapering to a slender cylindrical shaft and lanceolate blade, incised with an ornate finely carved geometric motif over the surface. In general older Austral island paddles tend to be smaller and have round pommels. Square pommels and larger paddles are later in production. The more eccentric double-bladed or double-handled varieties are also later. This example is smaller and has a rounded pommel. Based on the glossy dark brown patina, rounded pommel, and smaller size I would date it to late 1700s – early 1800s.
There are good grounds for asserting however that few if any ‘paddles’ were made and exported after 1842. Firstly, the population decline was extreme, particularly among the adults, and dead men made no paddles. By 1840 the total population of Tabuai had fallen to 250 and on Raivave to 360…Actual carvers would have been even fewer. Moreover, after the French took over Tahiti in 1842, trade visits to the Austral Islands declined.”
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea & Polynesian Oceanic Art
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 Nepal Tribal Ancestor Figure from Western Nepal
This beautifully carved old Ancestor Figure was likely in a modest family home shrine, the seated figure with the elbows resting on the knees and the hands joined together in prayer or Namaste position. The figure has a deep old encrusted patina from libations & smoke over decades of use.
The figure would be used as a guardian figure for the home & family giving them protection against malevolent forces & protection against illness.
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian Art
A Fine Old War Club from Malaita Island, Solomon’s 19th Century
This fine old club is sold but I have two other very fine old examples, please ask me about them
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Solomon Islands 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.
A Fine Old Collection of Fijian Ula Throwing Clubs Fiji Islands Polynesia 18th -19th Century
Fijian Men were fierce warriors to protect their families & clansmen from attacks from other groups. Fijian men always carried War Clubs when traveling from place to place, a large club like a Gata or Totokia was held in the hands but the warrior always had 2-3 of these shorter throwing clubs tucked into their fibre waist belt. These Ula or throwing clubs came in several different styles on the top from a spherical ball head to lobbed & the very fine gadrooned head. Fijian clubs were family heirlooms that had great Mana or spiritual energy in them that was passed on by their ancestors. These throwing clubs always have something unique about them, sometimes counting lines or a hole where a tooth or marine ivory inlay could be added to make the club more powerful. This collection of 15 Ula throwing clubs was put together over 35 years, most of them are on custom-made stands so that they can be displayed on a shelf or table. Displayed together they look like a modern sculpture installation with all the varying sizes & head types. Some of these clubs came from important historical collections made in the 19th century. As these were collected mainly in the 19th Century and it would be safe to say that some are from the 18th Century.
Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea & Polynesian Oceanic Art
To see many more rare items and the finest masterpieces, please make an appointment with us to visit the gallery.
For all enquires, please contact us.
A Superb Old Vanuatu Pig Killing Hammer, Vao Island Malekula Vanuatu 19th Century
This finely carved & very old Pig Killing Club was used in important Secret Men’s Societies on Vao Island. Many Vanuatu peoples have complex men’s secret societies, which involve a series of ritual “grades” through which individuals pass, by means of initiation rites, festivals, and pig sacrifices, in order to achieve increasing religious and social status.
The two most prominent grade societies in southern Malakula are Nimangki and Nalawan. Grade rituals in each of these societies involve the creation of brightly painted figures and masks depicting powerful spirits and other supernatural beings.
Sometimes for the Highest Grades in the Secret Men’s Societies, hundreds of Pigs would be killed & distributed among clans & neighboring villages. This type of Pig Killing Hammer or Club was used to dispatch the pigs with one heavy blow to the head. When I was traveling through many remote areas of Vanuatu 38 years ago, occasionally I would see an old Pig Killing Hammer Club, but they were never for sale as they are very important ceremonial objects that are kept for generations.
Provenance Ex Alex Phillips Collection & 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 neighbours.
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 War Shield Motu People from Central Province Papua New Guinea Dating from the 19th Century
The elegant figure-eight shape of Motu Shields is a rarity out of the corpus of New Guinea Shields that tend to either be oval or rectangular. This has the finest balance where the upper half-circle is slightly larger than the bottom one. The original rattan binding is intact including the woven designs. Such shields were used by the Motu, Koita, and Koiari peoples in the region around the capital of Port Moresby & Central Province. Most of these Shields were collected in the 19th Century as after that period people near the Colonial Capital Port Moresby were quickly won over to Christianity, these are rare as they stopped making them in the late 19th Century
New Guinea Shields were important objects that venerated their ancestors, each shield had a personal name and when invoked during warfare the enemy was said to be frightened or stunned and easy to kill.
Provenance: 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.
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 War Axe Tolai People New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea Dating from the 19th Century.
This is not an everyday working axe for cutting wood, this is a War Axe or Prestige Axe that a chiefly person once owned, it was made for a large man as it is tall & heavy to wield in one hand.
Clubs and War Axes were also emblems of status & prestige & contained ancestral power as they were passed down over generations. See the historic photo above that shows two Tolai Men one holding a similar war axe.
This very fine old War Axe is carved from a single piece of dense hardwood, and the handle ends in a beautiful conical-shaped form and decorated with braided fibre woven designs, the steel axe head is an old hand-forged old trade axe. Steel Axes & tools were one of the things the local people really wanted from Europeans because they were so much more efficient than their prior stone axes & tools. First, the German Colonials before WW1 traded large numbers of Steel Axes in return for local labor, and later the British & Australians brought steel axes & tools.
Provenance: Ex George Grey Collection Late 19th Century. The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art
Grey was a founding member of the Queensland Royal Anthropological Society & had a fine early collection of New Guinea & Pacific Island 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
Have a look at my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/about/exhibition-and-publications/ that shows exhibitions in public Museums and Art Galleries that I helped with around the world over 40 years
See this link to the article in the prestigious Louvre Magazine 1996 about my Artworks at The National Museums in France https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/art-for-sale/louvre-magazine-june-1996-review-of-exhibition-asmat-et-mimika-d-irian-jaya-april-1996-at-the-musee-national-des-arts-dafrique-et-d-oceanie-paris/
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.
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.