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Art For Sale

Bailer Shell Necklaces, Southern Highlands Papua New Guinea

These large old Shell Pectoral Ornaments are from the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Shells in general were highly valued as traditional wealth by the people in the interior of New Guinea where they had to travel through trading from the coast where they were collected to hundreds of kilometres through some of the most rugged terrain on the planet. These cut Bailer Shells were used as an ornament during traditional ceremonies as in the photo of the man wearing one in my photos but they were also used as a traditional currency and often used as bridal dowries paid by a young mans family.  These two examples are old, you can see the wear on the holes where it was hung by the rope around the neck and the warm patina from wearing and handling over many years and probably generations. When I first went to the Mendi Valley area of Southern Highlands in 1985 these shells seemed reasonably plentiful but by 1988 people in the villages said they were now harder to find and more expensive.  I have put these two shells on beautifully made custom stands where the shell appears to be floating . they can also be displayed on a table or shell with dramatic effect.

 

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A Fine Old Massim Ancestor Figure by Mutuaga Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old Massim Ancestor Figure by the Master Carver Mutuaga from Milne Bay Province Papua New Guinea

This superb Ancestor Figure was carved by the 19th Century Master Carver Mutuaga from Dagodagoisu village, Massim region, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea.  Out of artworks, Mutuaga made his ebony figures both free standing like this example or sitting on a stool are some of the finest artworks he carved.

This figure has been authenticated by Dr. Harry Beran author of the book  ” Mutuaga: a 19th Century New Guinea Master Carver ”

As described by Mr Crispin Howarth Curator of Pacific Art at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra;

”  It is rare that a Melanesian work of art from the nineteenth century can be attributed to an artist with any certainty, so the artist known as Mutuaga is a phenomenon. He is the only named New Guinean artist who was active during this period and who is responsible for a known body of outstanding work characterized by small yet monumental figurative sculpture.

The artist was known to be of a positive and cheerful disposition and, as a carver of great standing, Mutuaga was nicknamed Oitau (carved man) by his peers. His ability to transform the utilitarian object—in this case, a lime spatula (known as enale or gem in the Suau area)—and to make it into something attractive and covetous was exceptional. While all lime spatulas from the Milne Bay Province are decorated to some extent, and many also include a small figure as the handle, Mutuaga’s works are usually far larger and show a greater level of sculptural strength.

Little was known about the artist’s identity until 1996, when art historian Dr Harry Beran published groundbreaking research. Beran identified Mutuaga and his body of work through some hundred sculptures that had been mainly sitting unrecognized in museum collections. We now know Mutuaga was born around 1860 in Dagodagisu Village in the Milne Bay province of Papua New Guinea. He died around 1920.

Mutuaga, although he did not adopt Christianity, gained the friendship and patronage of the missionary Charles Abel at the nearby Kwato Island Mission. Mutuaga’s relationship with Abel provided a conduit for his art beyond the traditional exchange practices of his community. Missionaries, commodores and even two of Papua’s first governors acquired Mutuaga’s sculptures. Unsurprisingly, many of these works later found their way into galleries and museums across the world. ”

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

Architectural Carving India 19th Century

See more Fine Buddhist Art in Buddhist Art Gallery

 

This old carved wood frieze of Hindu Deities was part of a larger structure from India.  Possibly depicting ( left to right) Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, the three Hindu gods of the Trimurti.  on the back there is some iron fastenings and an old label. Carved from a single piece hardwood and with a deep brown / black patina overall.  Dating from the 19th Century or earlier.

If you know more about this artwork, please let me know.

 

A Fine Old Australian Aboriginal Shield Lagrange Bay West Australia 19th C

A Fine Old Australian Aboriginal Shield Lagrange Bay West Australia 19th C

This finely carved old shield is unique because normally La Grange Bay shields have the incised interlocking key designs only on one side being the back of the shield and the front is either undecorated or has vertical striations but this fine example has incised interlocking key designs on both sides.  This is the only shield I have seen that has the same beautifully incised designs on both sides.

These designs are unique in Australia to Karadjeri People of the La Grange Bay Area of the Northeast Coast of Western Australia. This design is also found on the famous pearl shell ornaments call “Longka Longka” from this area.

This design is also sometimes found on Spear Throwers but it is on the back of the Karadjeri shields where the design is executed in the most elegant manner,

Reference:

Interlocking Key Design in Aboriginal Australian Decorative Art. Dr. D. S. Davidson. First published: September 1949

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Aboriginal 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.

Shield, Kimberley Area, West Australia 19th Century

This finely carved Kimberley shield with fine incised herringbone design on the front and the back having incised linear striations over the entire surface and bisected with horizontal sections. The lug handle and entire shield with old use patina and traces of red ochre.

One of the most beautiful motifs in aboriginal art is the herringbone design, a design prominent at one time or another in many parts of the world, including ancient Greece, China and Peru.

Reference:

Interlocking Key Design in Aboriginal Australian Decorative Art. Dr. D. S. Davidson, First published: September 1949

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection

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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.

 

Breast Shield Ramu River Area Madang Province Papua New Guinea

Breast Shield Ramu River Area Madang Province Papua New Guinea 19th Century 

This ancient stone-carved Breast Shield is from the Josephstaal area in the Middle Ramu River area of Madang Province Papua New Guinea.  This is a rare type of shield that a man wore over his chest to protect from arrows. It must have hung around his neck with a rope from the two worn holes seen in the photo. Its hard to see the very old designs incised to the upper part of the shield, it looks much better in real life.

Provenance: Collected by Andy Kugler in 1967. Kugler was working in the upper Sepik Area at the same time that Douglas Newton the curator of Oceanic Art at The Museum of Primitive Art in New York the forerunner of The Micheal Rockefeller Wing of Oceanic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Kugler had much of his collection on loan with The Museum of Primitive Art and some of these artworks were published in the famous book on the upper Sepik cultures: ” Crocodile & Cassowary ” 1971 by Douglas Newton.

The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Papua New Guinea 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 inquiries, please contact us.

A Superb Old New Guinea Shell Ornament Yangoru Boiken Area East Sepik Papua New Guinea

This beautiful old shell ornament is from the Yangoru Boiken people in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea , this type of ornament is often called a Kap Kap this is a pidgin English word or term for an ornament that is made with a white shell base and a cut out turtle shell design as an overlay. In this case the cut out is a lizard which is a common motif for these ornaments.  Worn in the hair or as a pendant during ceremonies and it is also a type of traditional wealth objects that are used in bridal dowries paid by a young mans family.

This example also has a very fine cane chain from the centre of the Kap Kap & leading to a very old dangling boars tusk as see in the photo.

Provenance:  Collected by Peter Hallinan (1938-2015).  Peter was a very well liked and respected expert on New Guinea art and made 40- 50 trips over the late 1960’s and 1970’s.

A Fine OId New Guinea War Shield Northwest Asmat Area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old New Guinea War Shield Northwest Asmat Area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This beautifully carved old and well-used New Guinea Shield is from the Asmat people from Weo Village in the remote Northwest Asmat area on the South Coast of West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia.  The photo above shows the Shield in Wo Village with the owner of the Shield on the left.  Asmat 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.

This shield is missing the handle on the back, you can see where it was broken off, it does not lessen the shield in any way and it is helpful that the shield can hang flat on a wall where if it had a handle it make the shield hard to hang on the wall.

This beautiful old and well-used shield was collected by me in Weo in 1985.  At that time Weo village was one of the most remote villages in the North West Asmat Area. None of the villagers spoke even a small amount of  Bahasa Indonesia so all interaction between us was done by just watching each other and pantomime. The owner of the shield in the field photograph has his name recorded along with the name of the carver of the shield. Also at this time, there was still sporadic tribal fighting with Irogo and Pupis villages generally over the kidnapping of women which is their only way to increase their genetic pool in a small village.  Weo is a small village of less than 50 people.

I spent a lot of time in the Asmat region in the early 1980s and old and used Shields of this quality in the Coastal and Northwest Asmat Areas were rare. Many of the artworks I collected then 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 at The Musee du Quai Branly the first thing you see is the monumental ancestor poles from the Asmat & Mimika along with Dance Costumes Shields and large Soul Canoe, all of these were field collected by me. Originally they were in an exhibition ” 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 see the link below and a photo of the exhibition above.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Art

Exhibited: The Shields of Oceania 2000 Sydney College of the Arts at Sydney University at the Pacific Arts Festival for the 2000 Sydney Olympics

Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 32 

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 

 

Wunda Shield, West Australia, 19th Century

The fine old and well used Wunda Shield from Western Australia and dating from the late 19th Century.

Wunda Shields are one of the finest of all Aboriginal Shields made in by the indigenous people of Australia. An early Wunda shield is beautifully carved in an oval form from a thin hard wood, they are slightly convex on the front and slightly concave with a lug handle on the back. They adorned with incised bold zig zag patterns consisting of a series of longitudinal grooves accented with red and white ochre, Wunda shields were once used across a large portion of the vast state of Western Australia.  Most of the Wunda Shields have the zig zag designs on the front and the reverse can either have either other types of abstract designs or vertical striations over the entire back surface.

Although widely distributed in the region, the shields appear to have been produced mainly by peoples living in the area between the Gascoyne and Murchison rivers, which drain into Australia’s western coast, and traded to other groups along a vast network of inland exchange routes.

Like many forms of Aboriginal shields, Wunda were used in fighting for protection against projectile weapons, such as spears and boomerangs. They were also carried by performers in ritual contexts, especially when ceremonies reenacting specific episodes from the Dreaming (primordial creation period), in which ancestral beings were said to have been armed with shields.
Many of these old Wunda Shields where collected in the late 19th Century, they were old at the time it’s likely that these are from the early 19th Century due to their age when collected.

Provenance:
Ex Kelly Collection, a Western Australian Farmer in 1890s

References:

Further information on the designs of Wunda Shield can be found on this article:

The Symbolism of the North-Western Australian Zigzag Design

Author(s): C. G. von Brandenstein

Source: Oceania, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Mar., 1972), pp. 223-238

Published by: Wiley on behalf of Oceania Publications, University of Sydney