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Art For Sale

A Fine Collection Of Old Micronesian Ancestor Figures Caroline Islands Federated States of Micronesia

A Fine Collection Of Old Micronesian Ancestor Figures Caroline Islands Federated States of Micronesia

This collection of 25 figures represents the different styles of figurative carving from the Islands that make up the Micronesian Archipelago now called the Federated States of Micronesia. Some of these figures are from the 19th Century & others from the early 20th century up to the end of WW2. I was delighted to see and learn about the great variations in the styles of these amazing figures, from cubist to realistic form and one totally abstracted form ( possibly in the process of being finished )

See this example of a 19th Century Figure at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/319233

The most interesting and comprehensive study of these figures can be found in the article ” From Sacred to Souvenir, the squatting figure as a Motif in Micronesian Art” in the Tribal Arts Magazine Autumn / Summer 2002 Issue, by Barbara Wavell. The article can be found online at:

http://www.academia.edu/933808/FROM_SACRED_TO_SOUVENIR_THE_SQUATTING_FIGURE_AS_A_MOTIF_IN_MICRONESIAN_ART

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art 

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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 enquires, please contact us.

Superb Old New Guinea Lime Spatulas Massim Culture Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea

Superb Collection of Antique New Guinea Massim Lime Spatulas from the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea 19th to early 20th Century

These 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.

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 hardwood with elaborately carved finials depicting stylized human ancestor figures and or animals.

Lime Spatulas were used for chewing betel nuts by dipping the end of the spatula 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 Betel Nuts.

In the Massim Culture chewing Betel Nuts is an important daily ritual. Betel Chewers would have a lime gourd & spatula for dipping into the lime, and older men with poor teeth would also have a small mortar and pestle for crushing the nuts into a mush that was easier 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.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art 

 

Superb Old Tongan Islands Polynesian War Club 19th Century

A Superb Old Tongan Island  War Club Polynesian dating from the 19th Century

Tongan War Clubs are some of the most beautifully carved objects from Polynesia. They were objects of great prestige and held Mana or spiritual power that was passed on through generations of the Club’s owners.

This fine 19th-century club is carved from heavy hardwood. It is finely incised with tiny designs over its entire surface.  TClubs in Tonga were historically to be found in a broad range of cultural contexts, from warfare to sport, dance, religion, and the complex everyday use of the chiefly class. Clubs were significant artifacts in historical Tonga.

In the last photo, the largest club is shown being held by a Tongan Rugby Player in Sydney.

Provenance:  The Todd Barlin Collection of Polynesian & 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.

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 

 

 

Fine Old Fijian War Clubs 18th – 19th Century

Four Fine Old Fijian War Clubs from the 18th – 19th Century

Fijian War Clubs come in many different types with different shapes & decorations, Fijian War Clubs were very important objects in the lives of Fijian men who were known as fierce warriors & sometimes cannibals in pre-contact European times.  War Clubs were often family heirlooms passed through generations and were imbued with great Mana or spiritual power and also symbols of social status.

The type of tree wood used was very specialized and the club was also made to the size of the person who was to use it.

The Club was the Fijian warrior’s favourite weapon, he had his spears, from ten to fifteen feet long, efficient bows and arrows, and slings for throwing stones; but although these had each their special use none approached the club in popularity and daily use. Whether his tribe was at war or at peace, a man was seldom without it, until the end of the 19th Century no Fijian man left the precincts of his house unarmed. Whenever he left his village, even to work in his garden, he carried his club on his shoulder; and should he meet a man in the path, the club remained in that position, at alert, until on friendly recognition both men lowered their weapon in greeting.

Even in times of peace, when a man had occasion to visit a friendly village, he would not go unarmed lest the people should say, “He despises us; he comes without weapons.” He, therefore, carried a dress or token club, of size and style and enriched as befitted his social rank.

The range of types and styles of the club was exceptionally wide. High degrees of skill and patient care was given to the fashioning of clubs fit for the use of chiefs; and although certain types appear to have been more in favour than others, there was ample room for personal choice in pattern and enrichment.

The spurred club is commonly known as the “gun-stock,” from a fancied resemblance of the spurred head to the stock of a gun, the name is, however, apt to be misleading, for there is no evidence that these clubs were, in fact, imitations of the musket or derived from it. On the contrary, their wide distribution and their high stage of development, even amongst the hill people of the interior, suggest that this was a traditional form, in use long before the introduction of firearms at the beginning of the last centuries.

These are some finest early Fijian Clubs I collected over the past 40 years; some are from important historical collections from the 19th Century. As most of these clubs were collected in the 19th Century, it seems reasonable that some are dated from the late 18th Century.

They all have a deep old reddish-brown patina from handling and long use over generations

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Fijian & New Guinea & Polynesian 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 enquires, please contact us.

A Superb Set of a Bronze Buddha and four Monks Burma Myanmar 19th Century

See more Fine Buddhist Art in Buddhist Art Gallery

A Superb Set of  Bronze Sculptures of the Buddha and Four Monks Burma Myanmar 19th Century

This finely cast bronze Buddha and four Monks are from Burma also known as Myanmar. Dating from the 19th Century and made with the lost wax process of casting bronze which goes back to ancient times, and painted with traces of gold and other pigments.

The tallest figure is of the Buddha together with four monks walking on their begging round. Traditionally, Buddhist monks are required to live only on what they are given, which serves to reflect how well they are regarded in society. The begging bowl is held silently by both the Buddha and his attendant monks, for no words are to be spoken while on the begging round, nor thanks given for donations, as the merit of giving is considered to be sufficient. They wait momentarily outside a layperson’s home for a few moments; if nothing is forthcoming, they will move on silently. The Buddha’s right hand is held in the Abhaya gesture, which is one of blessing and reassurance.
The monastic begging round is still a common practice in South East Asia, but in other parts where the climate is too hostile, such as Tibet, Mongolia, and northern China, it was never a part of the Buddhist tradition. Instead, offerings were made directly to the monastery.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Buddhist & Asian Art

Exhibited and Published in “The art of compassion” 2018 P12.

 

A Superb Old Marquesas Islands U’u’ War Club French Polynesia 19th Century

A Superb Old Marquesas Islands U’u’ War Club French Polynesia dating from the late 19th Century Circa 1880s

This superb old Club known as Uu is from the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia in the central South Pacific Ocean.  Carved from a single piece of heavy hardwood and then intricately carved by a master artist over the entire surface of the club.

The finely carved designs include 8 double pairs of back-to-back ancestor figures along the length of the handle ending in a stylized face at the club butt. The flared top of the club is a large face and just below the crossbar made of Two double figures on either side.  The intricated designs are similar to the famous Marquesas tattoo designs on warriors’ bodies.

The carvings is so fine it’s hard to imagine the skill and effort that went into carving them over long months, the artist didn’t seem to make an error in his designs over the entire surface of this beautiful sculpture.

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

As described by Carol Ivory, ” Marquesas ‘u’u: A Stylistic and Historical Review, Pacific Arts No. 9-10 July 1994 ”

Warfare was an integral component of life in the Marquesas Islands in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the result of territorial rivalries or the need to avenge insults and indignities. War was carried on either in pitched battles using clubs, spears, and slings, or in ambush situations. The pitched battles were usually pre-arranged and involved much ritual preparation and invocation to the etua, the gods, for success. The ambushes were usually forays into neighbouring valleys in search of heana, human victims for sacrifice. Leaders in warfare were high-ranking and influential persons in Marquesas society.

Clubs such as this one are called ‘U U “ and were a Marquesas warrior’s most prize possession. They served as both a weapon in close combat and as a mark of high status within society. They are made from ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia), also called toa by the Marquesans, a dense, heavy, hardwood. The clubs were buried in the mud of taro fields, then polished with coconut oil, to give them a rich, dark patina. Strands of braided sennit, with human hair attached, were wrapped around the handle area. The hair was usually that of relatives. They were designed with a curved notch on the top edge so that the warrior could put it under his arm and lean on it. As a result, they vary in size, between 4.5 and 5 feet, depending on the height of the owner.

With rare exceptions, all  ‘U U ” carved through the 1840s are so remarkably similar that they have been identified as a specific style: A/B by Karl von Steinen (1928) and A by me (Ivory 1994). Though no two  ‘U U ” (nor the two sides of the same club) are exactly the same, their features are very consistent. The “head” of the club has two sides, each carved to resemble a large human face. Projecting knobs in the form of small heads suggest eyes and nose. A circle of striated lines surrounds each “eye”, similar to the Marquesan tattoo design called mata toetoe. Ridge-line curves between the eyes to form arching brows. Along the top is a beveled edge on which a small face is carved in low relief.

Below the high-relief eyes, a crossbar projects horizontally from the club. Another head, centrally placed on this crossbar, forms a “nose”. Immediately below are three zones of low relief carving consisting of two bands of designs between which is yet another set of eyes. The upper of these bands usually consists of two separated rectangular panels joined on the inner edges by thin arm-like lines. The lower band is continuous and generally filled with abstract geometric motifs, especially the ipu, another tattoo design…(in this case with two lizards)..The word ipu refers to containers of almost any kind, including cups, bowls, skulls, shells, and turtle shells, and can be understood as something hard that protects or shields. It was frequently tattooed on the inside of a warrior’s arms, a vulnerable spot, especially when raising the arm to attack by throwing or preparing to hit something.

The reason for all of the faces and eyes may have been to draw on the sacred power, and thus the protection of the ancestors, when in combat. Linguistics suggests that such repetition may indicate a symbolic relationship between the visual representation of the face or eye and an individual’s ancestry, as embodied by one’s genealogy. Mata is the Marquesan word for both face and eye, and also used to refer to genealogy. The term for the recitation of an individual’s genealogy, which established one’s place in the hierarchy of Marquesan society, is matatetau, literally to count or recite (tetau) faces/eyes (mata). Mata ‘enata (face/eye people) are one’s relatives, ancestors, or allies. Thus, there seem to be direct links between the notion of face and eyes and the ancestors, with their spiritual powers. The fact that there are two faces may have provided additional protection for the warrior, with eyes looking in two directions.

Such multiplication of faces, heads, and eyes is a form of visual “punning” with roots in the arts of the ancient Lapita Cultural Complex, whose peoples were the immediate ancestors of the Polynesians. Themselves most likely the descendants of indigenous Taiwanese, the Lapita peoples migrated across the Pacific from eastern New Guinea to Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji in little over 500 years, between 1000 and 500 BCE. Faces, repeated in patterns, are the single most important motif found on their distinctive decorated ceramic bowls.

The Marquesans were the most extensively (and most exquisitely) tattooed of all the Polynesian peoples. Nearly 500 named tattoo motifs are still known today, and their variations and meanings are complex. Specific motifs…(such as the lizard)…may have been indicated the owner of the clubs. “

References:  Ivory, Carol. Marquesan ‘u’u: A Stylistic and Historical Review, Pacific Arts No. 9-10 July 1994: 53-63.
Ottino-Garanger, Pierre and Marie-Noëlle. Te Patu Tiki Le Tatouage aux îles Marquises, Tahiti: Pourcade, 1998.
Steinen, Karl von den. Die Marquesaner und Ihrer Kunst, vol II, Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, 1928.

 

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 Old New Guinea Mask Yuat River East Sepik River Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Mask Yuat River East Sepik River Province Papua New Guinea

This powerful spirit mask is from Yuat River area in the lower Sepik River area of the East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea. The Mask represents a mythical bush spirit called Barag who is called upon for help in both male initiation and hunting. Barag masks exist in male and female forms, this is a male mask,

In the Men’s Ceremonial House or Haus Tambaran,  offerings are made to the mask spirit and magical substances are mixed with the ochre paint when the mask is repainted each time it is used in a ceremony.  Although carved Masks are impressive works of art, to the
Sepik Peoples’s potency lies in the bright poly-chrome paints applied to their surfaces, paint is a magical substance that endows the Masks with supernatural power and beauty. In creating their displays, artists strive to achieve a visual magnificence that will overwhelm the viewer.

Important masks were only danced on rare occasions, including the initiation of young males and at times of scarce game and other village hardships. Each individual mask was known by a unique name and was danced by an initiated male concealed in a plant fibre costume that covered the dancer’s whole body.

This mask dates from the 1960’s

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.

Fine Old New Guinea Stone Headed Clubs From Papua New Guinea

A Collection of Fine Old New Guinea Stone-Headed Clubs From Papua New Guinea

This fine collection of old Stone Headed Clubs are from different areas of Papua New Guinea, the stone Club Heads are from the 19th Century and some are much older.

Stone Clubs were made and used all over the island of New Guinea. Ancient Stone Club Heads are found buried in people’s gardens that were left or lost by previous generations and other Stone Club Heads have been in families or clans for centuries. The Clubs come in several types of forms described as Stone Discs, and Pineapple Headed. Star Shaped, Round Shaped & Oval Tubular, there are also variations and unique shapes.  This collection I have made over 35 years by keeping the best examples I have had the chance to buy. When they are displayed on stands in a group they look like an amazing sculptural installation as my photos suggest.

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.

A Fine Old New Guinea Food Bowl Boiken People East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Food Bowl Boiken People East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

This fine old and well-used Bowl / Plate is called Huamp in the Boiken language, the Boiken People live in the Prince Alexander Mountains area in the East Sepik Province or Papua New Guinea.

This large old well used and beautifully carved plate is from the Boiken People in the East Sepik Province or Papua New Guinea. Made from a single piece of hardwood with a shallow bowl inside &  outside convex and finely carved in high relief with the image of a stylized totemic Flying Fox also called a “Fruit Bat”. In the centre of the flying fox is an upraised circle with clan designs inside that are described by the Sepik Art expert Helen Dennet as a “crab ” design,  The bowl shows great age with a deep old patina from long handling and use and is from the early 20th Century.

It comes with a fine custom-made stand

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.

 

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 Food Bowl Boiken People East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Food Bowl Boiken People in the Prince Alexander Mountain Area in the East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea

This beautiful old food bowl is from the Boiken People who live in the Prince Alexander Mountain Area in the East Sepik River Province of Papua New Guinea. The bowl is called Huamp in the Boiken language

This old bowl is carved in a deep oval shape and has a finely carved totemic Lizard Figure in high relief on the outside of the bowl.  It is a very beautiful Sculpture.

Usually, Boiken Bowls are of circular form and shallow, so this example is a rare form and has a dark old patina from long use and handling.  Old Bowls were often family heirlooms passed down through generations.

Bowls are something important that all cultures made and used throughout the world and time, they were necessary for humans to gather & prepare and serve food.

The bowl, a simple material object, is a basic domestic tool in most cultures of the world. It reveals much about the preparation, storage, presentation, and consumption of food – the whole cultural history of eating. The design and decoration of bowls also carry cultural meaning. Bowls often have a significant role in various rituals, forming the link between daily life and the world of mythology.

Boiken & other Sepik River cultures made many beautiful unitarian art objects like Bowls that were both functional and a way of honouring and making visible their ancestors on a daily basis.

Field collected in the 1980s and artwork has been displayed in my home for 35 years, it’s such a beautiful object I never get tired of looking at it.  On a fine custom-made stand to make it easy to display on a table or shelf.

We have many other beautiful Bowls from New Guinea, Micronesia & Polynesia. I always bought the most elegant forms when selecting artworks

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 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