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Art For Sale

A Fine Old New Guinea Totemic Bird Figure Kupkein Village Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Totemic Bird Figure from Kupkein Village Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea. Dates from the early to mid-20th Century 

This elegant totemic bird sculpture is from the Nggala people in Kupkein Village on the Upper Sepik River Area in the East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea,

Beautifully carved this long-necked bird with outstretched wings as if it is in flight, the entire bird has deeply incised designs that are unique to the Nggala people in two villages only on the Upper Sepik River; Kupkein & Swagap. The designs are highlighted with white, yellow, and black ochre painting.  There is no apparent place for the bird to stand on its own so I am guessing that it was tied by a rope or string to the ceiling in the Men’s Cult House as many ceremonial objects are.

I have not previously seen any bird figures specifically like this but there are artworks from these villages in the book “Crocodile and Cassowary: Religious Art of The Upper Sepik River New Guinea by Douglas Newton at The Museum of Primitive Art in NY 1971 and you can see artwork s with similar designs on them on pages 46-49.

Swagap & two other small villages nearby have a common language & would share the same ceremonies.  These ceremonies are very important to the well-being of the entire community, they ensure safety from malevolent spirits and people, ensure that the crops will grow & that people’s behavior will be guided by their ancestors.

Birds in New Guinea art can be important clan totems and also anthropomorphic spirit beings that are half man; primordial bird-men and bird-women, who originally created the sacred musical instruments, consisting of bamboo flutes and slit gongs that were kept within the ceremonial houses and played central role in the ritual life of their communities.

I visited Kupkein & Swagap Villages in 1986 at that time I saw no Cult House or ceremonial objects being made or stored and when asked about ceremonial objects they said ” that was our grandparents ”

It is now on a fine custom-made stand that allows the bird to fly in space.

Provenance:  Kirby Kallas Lewis Collection Seatle 

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 Telefomin Cult House Door West Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Telefomin Cult House Door West Sepik Province Papua New Guinea. Dating from the early 20th Century 

This beautiful old Men’s Cult House Door from the Telefomin Area in the Star Mountains in the West Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. This is a genuinely old and well-used Cult House Door dating from the early 20th Century.

Carved from a single piece of hardwood and decorated with clan designs carved in low relief on the upper part of the door and highlighted with red, white and black ochre. These designs are similar to the ones used on war shields that are highly sought by collectors.

The field photo above shows how the Door fits onto the front of the Men’s House and provides only a small oval-shaped entry point and that is the only way in or out of the Men’s House.  Only initiated men are allowed inside where important clan ceremonial objects are kept along with their ancestor’s skulls and hunting trophies like boars skulls & war shields.

In the 1990s there were many of these on the market but none were used like this old example. This is an important door that had been used on the Men’s Cult House for decades. See the close-up image of where their feet constantly went in and out that made a very old patina.

Provenance:  The Paulian Society in Sydney in 1986, they are a catholic charity with long associations with New Guinea people & their art.

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 inquiries, please contact us.

A Fine New Guinea Anthropomorphic Figure Papuan Gulf Area, South Coast Papua New Guinea

A Fine New Guinea Anthropomorphic Figure Papuan Gulf Area, South Coast Papua New Guinea

This amazing sculpture was made by an artist from the Bamu River Area of the Papuan Gulf on the South Coast of Papua New Guinea. Called Imunu these figures are carved from the roots of the mangrove trees where the natural form is found in the tree and only small carvings & designs are added to represent powerful spirits that dwell in the bush and in isolated swamps. Imunu representing these spirits in their visible form is originally used to cajole or coax supernatural beings into attending to human needs and protection.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic 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 Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old New Guinea Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia 

This is a very old part of a Canoe Prow Ornament from the Asmat People in the remote NW West Asmat Area on the South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia.  This beautiful old carving of a highly animated bird probably represents a black Cockatoo which is a potent headhunting symbol for the Asmat People.  It is only part of a larger canoe prow and was I told that it was made by their grandfather and kept as a memory. Dating from the early 20th Century.

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 Fine Old New Guinea Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old Canoe Prow Ornament Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This fine old Canoe Prow Ornament from the Asmat People, Asatat Village in the remote NW West Asmat Area on the South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia.  This beautiful old carving of three heads stacked one on top of the other are likely a reference to headhunting.  In pre-contact times headhunting was prolific as it was part of the Asmat people’s spiritual well-being.

I collected this canoe ornament in 1985 I told that it was made by their grandfather and kept as a memory.

I spent a lot of time in the Asmat region in the early 1980’s and old sculptures of this quality were rare.

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 Canoe Paddle Lake Sentani Area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old New Guinea Canoe Paddle Lake Sentani Area West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A finely carved old Paddle from Asei Village on Lake Sentani on the North Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia. Women’s paddles on Lake Sentani are the most beautifully decorated on the slender blade of the paddle. Carved from a single piece of hardwood and the leaf-shaped paddle blade is carved in low-relief stylized fish and other clan designs. Each clan has specific designs and anyone from Lake Sentani would know the clan & family that the paddle belonged to.  In the 1980’s I spent months staying in villages on and around Lake Sentani, the people are very warm, kind, and generous when staying in their homes. I bought many old paddles during my time there, Paddles are very much a technology that was in use to propel small canoes for fishing or traveling from village to village on the Lake.  Lake Sentani art is very special in that it is quite different than other areas of the island of New Guinea, their art is soft, gentle, and not aggressive like other art areas of New Guinea like the Sepik or Asmat.   Please have a look at the Lake Sentani Artworks on my website.

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 Fine Old New Guinea Ancestor Figure Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Fine Old New Guinea Ancestor Figure Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This old and used Asmat Ancestor Figure or kawe is from the Momogo Village in the remote Northwest Asmat area on the South Coast of West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia.

The male ancestor is standing with his legs slightly bent as if he is in motion moving toward you, the hands are held at the front of his waist.  Carved from a single piece of medium-density wood, the figure has no base or way to stand independently this is because the older figures were tied onto the walls inside the Men’s Ceremonial House or Jeu.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then he made a drum, when he played the drum the carved wood figures came to life and that is how the first Asmat people were created.

I spent a lot of time in the Asmat region in the early 1980s and sculptures of this quality were rare.  This figure at collected in Momogo Village on the upper Pomatsj River in the remote NW Asmat area in 1986.  There was only one old man who was a Wow Ipitsj or master carver in that small village.

Many of the artworks that I field collected in the Asmat & Mimika are now in important Museum collections around the world like The Musee du Quai Branly in Paris France. When you walk into the Oceanic Art pavilion the first thing you see are the monuments of Ancestor Poles from the Asmat & Mimika Cultures along with Shields & Dance Costumes, all of which I field collected.  These artworks were in a superb exhibition in 1996 The Asmat et Mimika at the National Museum of African and Oceanic Art in Paris ( now part of the Musee du Quai Branly ) and published in the prestigious Louvre Museum Magazine the same year 1996.

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 inquiries, please contact us.

A Fine Old New Guinea Headrest Coastal Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Headrest Coastal Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

This beautiful old and well-used Headrest or Neckrest is from the Coastal Sepik Area in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. Both ends of the Headrest is in the form an Ancestors Head with a small totemic animal coming out of the mouths.  The horizontal support with the head is a single piece of hardwood with a warm old patina from long use. The legs are made from two pieces of cut bamboo.

Sleeping on a Headrest with ancestors heads protects the person when sleeping from malevolent spirits and dreams. Also, the more practical aspect is in many places in New Guinea men had elaborate hairstyles that they spent time and effort to keep looking their best, The headrest helps protect their hairstyles while sleeping.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection Of Papua 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 Lime Spatula Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

A Fine Old New Guinea Lime Spatula Sepik River Area Papua New Guinea

This old and beautiful Lime Spatula finial was collected in the Middle Sepik River Area of Papua New Guinea in 1967 by geologist Andy Kugler.  Kugler was working in the upper Sepik Area at the same time that curator Douglas Newton from 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.  This spatula was missing the long stick that was used to chew lime with betel nut, the finial with looped top and when you look closely below you will see three small ancestor faces, one face is facing forward and the other two flanking it on the sides the faces in profile. The piece has a very old patina from long use. 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.

Provenance: Collected by A. Kugler 1967 in New Guinea. 

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.