Archives: Art For Sale

Fine Old New Guinea Amulet Figures Middle Sepik River East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

This amazing collection of 17 small amulet figures is in the form of anthropomorphic ancestors and powerful ancestral beings called waken. 

All of these finely carved and painted little figures appear to be made by one master carver.

Small amulet figures like these were kept by men in small woven bags or even sometimes woven into their beards. They were used for magical purposes such as; love magic, controlling the weather,  hunting for wild pigs & cassowaries, to protect the owner and his family from malevolent sorcerers & the spirit world.

It is unknown where Mr Friede acquired these but it’s quite  possible they were collected by Douglas Newton in New Guinea in the 1960s as Friede bought most of Douglas Newton Collection which focused mainly on beautiful small objects

Provenance: Ex John Friede Collection New York, Most of this important collection is in the De Young Fine Art Museum in San Francisco California.

The Todd Barlin Collection of Papua New Guinea Art & Artifacts.

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.

ENQUIRE 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 enquires, please contact us.

A Fine Collection of Japanese Smoking Implements from the 19th Century

Some of the most beautiful small objects made in Japan were used for Tobacco Smoking. This fine collection was made over 40 years and each of these Tobacco Sets were acquired because of their individual unique beauty, there is such variation from the most simple natural form burl wood containers to the elaborately carved wood examples with finely incised designs such as dragons.

The Portuguese introduced tobacco in Japan in the second half of the sixteenth century. The Japanese were particularly surprised to see the Portuguese smoking pipes and spitting out smoke and would have exclaimed “The Southern Barbarians have a fire in their belly!”

Tobacco was quickly adopted by the Japanese people by the end of the sixteenth century, the Kerisu or Smoking Pipes, were used as the only way to smoke tobacco in Japan and it they would remain that way for the next three centuries, until the Meiji Restoration (1868), when cigarettes arrived in Japan and became very popular.

The smoking implements needed to smoke while outside or traveling were a set consisting of a pouch to hold the tobacco called TONKOTSU  and the Pipe or Kerisu & its holder.  Tobacco pouches were usually beautifully decorated and with delicate metal clasps to close the pouch, they also had a Netsuke on the end of a small chain or string so as to tuck into the traditional sash called (Obi). Japanese robes did not have pockets & which is why their tobacco smoking sets were tucked into their sash.

The Edo period (1603-1868) that precedes the development of cigarettes in Japan was the heyday of Kiseru Pipes & Tobacco smoking paraphernalia.  In the Edo period there was in the high society a ” Tobacco Ceremony” or ” The Way of Tobacco” (tabako-dō 烟草道), similar to the Japanese “Tea Ceremony”  where rules of politeness and decorum were fixed and there were procedures or good manners to give and receive the Kiseru pipes when smoking with company.  It became very fashionable to have a silver Kiseru and beautiful Tobacco Case and  it was an essential fashion accessory for young people from rich houses.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection of Asian Art

ENQUIRE HERE

SOLD PLEASE SEE OTHER ARTWORKS

Fine Old New Guinea Coconut Spinning Tops Abelam People East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

These beautiful old Spinning Tops are made from coconut shells and incised clan designs, coconut is a hardwood and difficult to carve, it’s quite amazing the skill of the artists who made these. Spinning tops seem to be a type of object independently created by many world cultures and used as kids’ toys.

The Abelam people who live in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea,  spinning tops are used both as kid’s toys but also as a ceremonial game that initiated men play with the winner thought to be the clan that will have the biggest ceremonial yams during that years harvest. The concave surface is decorated with various stylized and other geometric designs.

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 are made exclusively for yams and are never worn by humans.

Similar tops used in a harvest ceremony are illustrated in fig. 48 in Margaret Mead’s book on the Abelam’s neighbors, the Mountain Arapesh.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art 

ENQUIRE 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 enquires, please contact us.

SOLD PLEASE SEE OTHER ARTWORKS

Fine Old New Guinea Massim Lime Spatulas Milne Bay Provence Papua New Guinea,19th Century

The utensils made for chewing betel nut are some of the most beautiful smaller-scale carvings made in New Guinea. Lime Spatulas are usually carved from a dark native ebony hardwood with the finials usually depicting a stylized human ancestor figure in profile.

These six lime spatulas show the high quality of aesthetics that Massim Master Carvers could achieve working on this scale. After carving & polishing the artist would put white lime into the incised designs to highlight them.

Lime Spatulas were used for chewing betel nuts by dipping the end into powdered lime (crushed & burnt sea shells) & licking it off as you put a Betel Nut from the Acacia Palm to chew together, the lime diffuses the alkaloids in the Acia Nuts. In the Massim Culture chewing of Betel Nut is an important daily ritual. Betel Chewers would have a lime gourd & spatula for dipping into the lime, older men with poor teeth would also have a small mortar and pestle for crushing the nuts into a mush where easy to eat.

Many of the most beautiful Massim Lime Spatulas were made by Master Carvers for use only by important Chiefly Persons. The motifs are part of the Massim belief system & spirituality

All six of these Lime Spatulas were kept by me over the last 40 years that I had been collecting them as they showed the great skill and imagination the carvers had. Number D has been identified by the world-renowned Massim Art Scholar Dr. Harry Beran as “ THE MASTER OF THE CONCAVE BACK “

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 enquiries, please contact us.

Two Fine Old New Guinea Marupai Charms Papuan Gulf Area, Papua New Guinea 19th Century

These beautifully carved dwarf coconuts called Marupai were important magical charms or amulets that most men would have had. The incised designs highlighted with infilled lime are based on clan totems. Each clan would have its own style of Marupai unique to them. T

hey had immense spiritual power that could be used in many ways. The people from the Papuan Gulf Area on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea were some of the finest artists from the Island of New Guinea. Their great ceremonial and spiritual cycles took years to complete and many types of artworks were produced for these traditional ceremonies, the main ones that people are familiar with are Gope Boards, Gope are also known as Kwoi in the Kikori , Baimaru . Uruma, Hohao, and Orokolo areas of the Papuan Gulf.  They represent the spirits of ancestral heroes that can protect clans from evil spirits and death.

Marupai Charms were used for:

“ They were used for magic such as to protect a man & his family from being attacked through the spirit world and sorcery.

They were used to send and deliver messages to other people with Marupai through the spirit world.

They were used in warfare to confuse an enemy with their powers

They were used as hunting charms for finding wild pigs & cassowary birds.

They were used to transport a person magically from one place to another.

They were used to control the weather “

These charms were kept in small woven bags & sometimes hung around the neck of a sorcerer.

Provenance: Ex Toast and Rohu Sydney Collection, 19th Century. The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic New Guinea Art

ENQUIRE 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.

Four Fine Old Nepal Milk Jar Lids Western Nepal 19th Century

These old wood Jar Stoppers from Western Nepal all have carved ancestor figures on the finial. They were used to close the jars holding Ghee or Clarified Butter. The Tribal people that live in the Himalayas make Ghee is a type of clarified butter that originated in ancient India and is commonly used in cuisines, traditional medicine, and religious rituals. Ghee is prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from cream and removing the liquid residue. The texture, colour, and taste of ghee depend on the quality of the butter, source of the milk used in the process and the duration of the boiling. The whole purpose of Ghee was to clarify the butter to keep it from spoiling. In Hindu culture, the cow is sacred, and butter is the only animal fat that Hindus will eat. The cow represents the soul, with its obstinate intellect, and unruly emotions, but it is also gentle and generous. The butter gives a sacred offering, fuel for lamps, and so valuable for food.

The ghurra or churning rod-handle are a tool for churning milk into butter. Besides possessing an important functional side, ghurras give expression to the age-old Hindu creation myth, the Samudra Manthana: the churning of the milk ocean by the gods and demons, which is also a story with the endless struggle between the forces of good and evil.

By using the ghurra the churning process evokes a reality that is inherent to people. In this way, the space-time structure of the mountain people is measured in moments of everlasting holy time (darshan), a ritual action whose initial inner significance was laid down in centuries and centuries ago.

Inspired by their religious convictions and folk customs, Nepalese mountain people have transposed the original mythological churning rope used to rotate and support the churning rod during churning into sublimely beautiful wooden sculptures full of religious meaning. Ghurras also emanate sublime symbolism through their particular schematic design. They consist of geometric elements that abstractly evoke the gods of the Hindu pantheon.

Ghurras, therefore, can be interpreted as a symbolic stimulus for great devotion to God so that in every object or attitude, in every action undertaken, a deep underlying sacred reality is recognized and given expression: Brahman.

The information on this subject relies on the book Divine Support by Paul de Smedt, published by Book Faith India 2000.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian Art

ENQUIRE 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.