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A Fine Old New Guinea Headrest Eastern Highlands Papua New Guinea

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A Fine Old New Guinea Headrest Eastern Highlands Papua New Guinea

This old and well-used Headrest or Neckrest is from the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. In the form of a Zoomorphic animal that used the natural shape of the tree branch, it was made from. Three-legged Headrests are found in other areas like East Africa and it must be a pleasing & functional manner in which to make a Headrest sturdy to lay one’s neck on when resting.  In New Guinea many of the cultural groups the men had elaborate hairstyles that took time and effort to maintain. The headrests kept their hair from touching the ground and getting flat while sleeping. We have a hard time understanding how this could be comfortable enough to be able to sleep but it must be okay since cultures around the world made & used wood headrests like this example. To me, it looks like an animal stretching its back as dogs do when they lean forward.

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.

A Fine New Guinea Yamate Ancestor Board Kamoro Mimika People South Coast West Papua

A Fine New Guinea Yamate Ancestor Board, Kamoro Mimika People South Coast West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia 

This beautiful Yamate Ancestor Figure is best described as a two-dimensional ancestor figure, Yamate is finely carved in slightly different forms and then incised with designs & ochre painted.

The Kamoro are also referred to as the Mimika which is a reference to the “Mimika River” where they live, they are related to the more well-known Asmat people their neighbors to the east and they both speak the same language. The Kamoro people were tired of the endless headhunting & revenge within the Asmat area and they moved up the coast out of easy reach of the Asmat head-hunters.

The Kamoro art reflects their more peaceful and gentle nature, their artworks are more subtle and not aggressive like their Asmat neighbors, they also use colours and designs that are not found in the Asmat area.

Much of the art of the Kamoro people of southwest New Guinea centers on ceremonies and wood carvings that honour the spirits of individuals who have recently died.  Portraying recently deceased ancestors, Yamate were primarily created during the emakame, a complex ritual honouring the dead and celebrating the renewal of life. A pivotal event in the Emakame was the revealing of a group of Yamate, each of which represented a specific deceased person, whose name it bore. Some Yamate were also used on festive occasions as ornaments on the prows of canoes.

In the early 1980’s I spent several months living with the Kamoro in two villages in the Eastern Mimika area, these long visits were the opportunity to really get to know people well & to be invited back to attend traditional ceremonies for The Mbitoro Ancestor Poles, during these ceremonies that last up to one year, there was the occasion when Yamate were made and displayed outside their amazing ceremonial house.

This Yamate along with other carvings collected over a two-year period in 1985-1986 are now in major museum collections around the world including The  Musee du Quai Branly Museum in Paris, when you walk into the Oceanic Art Pavilion the first thing you see are monumental Ancestor Poles from the Asmat & Kamoro (Mimika) collected by me, they were originally in an exhibition ” The Asmat et Mimika “ at The National Museum of African and Oceanic Art in 1996 (now that museum is part of The Musee du Quai Branly).  The exhibition the Asmat and Mimika in 1996 was published in the prestigious Louvre Museum Magazine

Provenance: The Todd Barlin 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 Fine Old New Guinea Ceremonial House Lintel Kamoro Mimika People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old New Guinea Ceremonial House Lintel, Kamoro Mimika People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This beautiful Ceremonial House Lintel is from the Kamoro people in the Eastern Mimika Area on the South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia. The lintel is also an Ancestor Board called Yamate which is a two-dimensional ancestor figure. Yamate Ancestor Boards were finely carved in different forms and have incised & painted designs that reflect the clan’s own ancestors.

Much of the art of the Kamoro people of southwest New Guinea centers on ceremonies and wood carvings that honor the spirits of individuals who have recently died.  Portraying recently deceased ancestors, Yamate was primarily created during the emakame, a complex ritual honoring the dead and celebrating the renewal of life. A pivotal event in the Emakame was the revealing of a group of Yamate, each of which represented a specific deceased person, whose name it bore. Some Yamate was also used on festive occasions as ornaments on the prows of canoes.

The Kamoro are also referred to as the Mimika, they are related to the Asmat their neighbors to the east. The Kamoro people were tired of the endless headhunting & revenge with the Asmat and they moved up the coast out of easy reach of the Asmat headhunters.  The Kamoro art reflects their more peaceful and gentle nature.  Their artworks are more subtle than their Asmat neighbors & they use colours and designs that are not found in the Asmat area.

In the early 1980’s I spent several months living with the Kamoro in two villages in the Eastern Mimika area. These long visits were the opportunity to really get to know people well & to be invited back to attend traditional ceremonies for The Mbitoro Ancestor Poles, during these ceremonies that last up to 1 year there were Yamate made and displayed outside the amazing ceremonial house made from the ceremonies. I have included a couple of field photos from this time.   The monumental Mbitoro Ancestor Poles (about 6 meters tall)

This Yamate along with other carvings collected over a 2 year period in 1985-1986 and most of the objects collected are now in major museum collections around the world like the Musee du Quai Branly Museum in Paris. When you walk into the Oceanic Art Pavilion the first thing you see are monumental Ancestor Poles from the Asmat & Kamoro (Mimika)  along with a Soul Boat, Shields, and dance costumes from the Asmat & Mimika, all of those artworks were collected by me at the same time as this Yamate. 

Provenance: The Todd Barlin 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 Old New Guinea Gope Board Giobari Island Papuan Gulf Area Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Gope Spirit Board, Kerewa People from Giobari Island in the Papuan Gulf Area of Papua New Guinea

This beautifully carved Gope Spirit Board or titi ebiha is from Goaribari Island (also spelled Giobari) and is at the delta of the Kikori and Omati Rivers in the Papuan Gulf Area on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea. Gope boards are one of the most recognizable artworks from the Island of New Guinea.

Gope Spirit Boards are the embodiment of powerful spirits that represent each clan. No two Gope boards are the same, sometimes they are made from the sides of old canoes which provide a ready-made flat shape to carve the Gope boards from. This Giobari Island Gope in the form of an abstract spirit head carved in low relief and painted with black & red ochre & white lime (burnt & crushed sea shells).

In the past, the primary focus of religious and artistic life in the region was on powerful spirits (imunu). Each imunu typically was associated with a specific location in the landscape, rivers, or sea, and was linked to the specific clan within whose territory it dwelt.

In pre-European contact times, the Papuan Gulf people made huge ceremonial houses with peaked roofs called Ravi, this is where the Gope Spirit Boards and other types of ceremonial objects were kept safe & secret from the uninitiated.  Gope boards were often kept on shrines that had boars’ skulls and human skulls from headhunting placed around them on racks.

The Papuan Gulf people had complex ceremonial cycles that took sometimes a decade to complete.  There are many distinct art styles in the Papuan Gulf stretching from the Elema area in the east to the Bamu area in the west and they are also neighbors of the Gogodala & Marind Anim people who live on both sides of the border that splits the island between Papua New Guinea and West Papua Indonesia.

This Gope Board shows the genius of the Giobari Island artists, he was not constrained by the size or the shape of the wood, the oversized head, and the small body both work to the great visual effect.

Provenance: The late Alyn Miller Collection (1955- 1998)  Alyn was working for the UN in PNG and was instrumental in setting up one of the first government-sponsored traditional art businesses in PNG in the 1970s. This afforded Alyn many opportunities to travel to many remote areas of PNG, where he selected the best artworks for his collection. He also did the research and editing for the book “The Artifacts and crafts of Papua New Guinea”

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.

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 Fine Old New Guinea Gope Spirit Board Papuan Gulf Area Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old Gope Spirit Board Papuan Gulf Area South Coast Papua New Guinea

This finely carved old Gope Board is from the Era People Wapo Creek Area in the Papuan Gulf on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea.  Gope also called “Spirit Boards ” are the embodiment of powerful spirits that represent each clan.  No two Gope boards are the same, sometimes they are made from the sides of old canoes which provide a ready-made flat shape to carve the Gope boards from.

In pre-European contact times, the Papuan Gulf people made huge ceremonial houses with peaked roofs called Ravi , this is where the Gope Boards and other types of ceremonial objects were kept safe & secret from the uninitiated.  Gope boards were often kept on shrines that had boars’ skulls and human skulls from headhunting placed around them on racks. Gope boards are one of the most recognizable artworks from the Island of New Guinea. The Papuan Gulf people had complex ceremonial cycles that took sometimes a decade to complete.  There are many art styles in the Papuan Gulf stretching from the Elema area in the east to the Bamu area in the west, they are also neighbors of the Gogodala & Marind Anim people who live on both sides of the border that splits the island between Papua New Guinea and West Papua Indonesia.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Papua New Guinea Art

 

A Fine Old New Guinea Drum Abelam People East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Drum Abelam People East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea  Stone Carved and dating from the 19th Century 

This ancient stone-carved Drum is from the Abelam People in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.  This hourglass-shaped drum is often referred to as a Kundu which is the Papua New Guinea pidgin English term for this type of drum.  Old drums like this fine example were family heirlooms often used over several generations of a family.  The larger bottom section of the drum is finely incised with designs of dancing figures going horizontally around the bottom section of the drum. The lug handle and whole drum have an old deep black patina from use and storage in the men’s ceremonial house.  The use of drums is very important to all traditional ceremonies where drumming and singing relate stories of ancient ancestral beings who are invoked for protection & fertility.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection Of Oceanic Papuan New Guinea 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.

A Fine Old New Guinea Gope Spirit Board Papuan Gulf Area Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Gope Spirit Board Wapo Creek Area Papuan Gulf Papua New Guinea

This finely carved old Gope Board is from the Era People Wapo Creek Area in the Papuan Gulf on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea.  Gope also called “Spirit Boards ” are the embodiment of powerful spirits that represent each clan.  No two Gope boards are the same, sometimes they are made from the sides of old canoes which provide a ready-made flat shape to carve the Gope boards from.

This Gope board is from the same village and time as one published in the superb book on the subject “Embodied Spirits: Gope Boards from the Papuan Gulf 2015 edited by Virginia Lee Webb on page 219.  This highly regarded publication shows all the areas and art styles of Gope Spirit Boards.

In pre-European contact times, the Papuan Gulf people made huge ceremonial houses with peaked roofs called Ravi , this where the Gope Boards and other types of ceremonial objects were kept safe & secret from the uninitiated.  Gope boards were often kept on shrines that had boars skulls and human skulls from headhunting placed around them on racks. Gope boards are one of the most recognizable artworks from the Island of New Guinea. The Papuan Gulf people had complex ceremonial cycles that took sometimes a decade to complete.  There are many art styles in the Papuan Gulf stretching from the Elema area in the east to the Bamu area in the west, they are also neighbors of the Gogodala & Marind Anim people who live on both sides of the border that splits the island between Papua New Guinea and West Papua Indonesia.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Papua New Guinea Aart

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 New Guinea Abelam Wood Head Abelam People East Sepik Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old Abelam Wood Head called Idap from the Abelam People Prince Alexander Mountains Area East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea 

This finely carved and ochre painted Wood Head called Idap was used in Yam Harvest ceremonies that are at the heart of the Abelam Culture.  The Abelam are well known for their large and beautiful Ceremonial Houses where sacred artworks are kept & the initiation of young men takes place.

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.

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.

Provenance: Ex Lewis Morley Collection (1925-2013) Australian Photographic Artist of world renown.

The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea 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 Fine Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure Ramu River Area Madang Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure Ramu River Area Madang Province Papua New Guinea

This finely carved Basket Hook Figure is from the Ramu River area of Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.  The intricately carved artwork was made by a master carver with a distinct style, it can be viewed as a different artwork on three sides. The front view shows a male ancestor figure supported by a totemic crocodile on both sides. The second photo shows another small ancestor figure with upraised arms next to a powerful face or mask and the third image shows the crocodile figure and ancestors in profile. The basket hook is carved from a single piece of hardwood and it shows  good age and use where bags of food were hung from the hooks, there is also traces of ochre

One of the things that the early 20th Century European artists loved about Oceanic Art was the New Guinea artist’s ability to use their own style and change forms from realistic to stylized and often abstracted & sometimes Cubist.

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.

A Fine Old New Guinea Stone Wealth Axe Yangoru Boiken Area East Sepik Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old Stone Wealth Axe Yangoru Boiken Area East Sepik Papua New Guinea Dating from the late 19th – early 20th century. 

This beautiful old Ceremonial Stone Wealth Axe is from the Yangoru Boiken people who live in the remote Prince Alexander Mountain Range in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.

This type of Ceremonial Axe is used as a traditional form of wealth and is often used for paying a bridal dowry by the young man’s parents and family.  The top of the Axe is finely carved in the image of a totemic bird figure with incised designs & traces of ochre painting.

The stone which could be centuries old is also painted with designs.  A bridal dowry is a very important part of New Guinea people’s culture, depending on the area the dowry can be paid in Shell Ornaments, Stone Axes, Bird of Paradise Feathers, and Food.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin 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.

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