Archives: Art For Sale

Art For Sale

A Pair of Fine Old Australian Aboriginal Spears from Arnhem Land Northern Territory Australia

A Pair of Fine Old Australian Aboriginal Spears from Arnhem Land Northern Territory Australia. Dating from the late 19th – Early 20th Century

This pair of old Arnhem Land Spears shows the great skill of the artist who made them. The Stone Spear Heads are expertly flaked to get very sharp edges & points. They were then hafted on wood shafts bound with fiber string & resin to hold them strongly, after the spears were functionally strong the artist took the time to ochre paint the area just below the stone tips. These two spears were likely cut down from their original 2 to 3-meter length, this was often done when collected in a remote area and then needed to transport them back to their new home.

Spears are traditionally used for hunting and fishing, and as a weapon to administer tribal law, self-defense, or acts of aggression. Spears would have been used with Woomera Spear Throwers to make them fly further & with great accuracy to hit running animals like Kangaroo

While many spears had wooden tips, those across northern Australia, like these examples were made with fine blades of silcrete and quartzite. These were associated with magical qualities, which were believed to improve accuracy for the operator.

Long stone blades with sharp edges, known by archaeologists as “Leilira blades “.  The term ‘Leilira blade’ refers to very long flaked blades made in central and northern Australia that are triangular or trapezoidal in cross-section. They are made by ‘flaking’ – removing a small piece of rock from a large piece, called a core, by striking it with a hammerstone. The core is usually held in the hand or rested in the person’s lap or on the ground. Often one or both edges of the blade are retouched to create a dentated or notched edge or a rounded end.

Leilira blades are usually made from quartzite, a hard metamorphic rock that varies in colour from white to dark grey, but slate and other stones are also used.

Leilira blades are up to 20 cm long and were used to butcher animals, to create cicatrice (raised) scars on people and in male circumcision. They were also used as spearheads in the Northern Territory, central Australia and western Queensland,

Provenance: Old Collection Australia Early 20th Century & The Todd Barlin Collection of Aboriginal & New Guinea 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.

 

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 Pair of Australian Aboriginal Mokoy Figures from Central Arnhem Land NT C.1960s

A Fine Old Pair of Australian Aboriginal Mokoy Figures from Central Arnhem Land Northern Territory of Australia. Dating from the 1960s

These rare old figures commemorate a Birrkili ceremony. Finely carved and ochre painted; the black triangles symbolize thunder, red is the rain, and white is the lightning and also includes an image of a totemic turtle, a creature that plays a major role in Mokoy ceremonies.  The people of Arnhem Land are world-famous for their ancient Rock Art and Bark Paintings and Sculpture

Yolŋu are Aboriginal people from northeast and central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. The Yolŋu worldview sees every species of plant, animal, fish bird, or any place or person as belonging to one of the two balancing halves of the world, the clans making up the two moieties that define all Yolŋu relationships to people and country – Yirritja and Dhuwa. The sacred art of this region, known as Miwatj, details the spiritual forces behind the ongoing Creation and the continuing identity of the fresh and saltwater country of the area.

Provenance: Old Collection Australia & The Todd Barlin Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art & 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.

 

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 Australian Aboriginal Woomera Spear Thrower West Australia 19th C

 A Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Woomera Spear Thrower from Western Australia Dating from the Late 19th to Early 20th Century.

The Woomera or Spear Thrower is a sophisticated technology that elongates the arm making the spear travel much further in distance & with great accuracy when used for hunting. Correcting for the game animal’s lateral dodging is accomplished by tilting the wing-shape woomera during the throw for last-second corrections. The kinetic energy of a spear launched from a woomera has been calculated as four times that of an arrow launched from a compound bow.  See the photo above of Woomera in use

This beautiful old Woomera or Spear Thrower is finely carved from a single piece of hardwood, it is finely incised on the front surface with linear fluting and the Zig Zag design that represents an abstract snake highlighted with white ochre painting.  At the back of the Woomera, you can see the great skill of the artist and their use of traditional bone or stone tools giving it a distinct chiseled surface. The slender handle butt would have once had a small ball of spinifex resin.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea & First Australians & Oceanic Art    On a fine custom stand for easy display showing both sides well

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 

 

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Mount Hagen Area Western Highlands Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Melpa People Mount Hagen Area Western Highlands Papua New Guinea

This old and well-used shield was collected in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.  The bold design is started by a punctated pecking that becomes the outline for the designs that are painted in yellow, white, and black colours. This shield has signs of being well used in fighting because of the many arrows and spearheads embedded in the front of the shield. The area clans have a range of designs that they use on their shields, each design is likely to belong to a specific clan and can be easily recognized by enemies and clansmen alike. Warfare was widespread among traditional enemies in neighboring areas and alliances were made & broken regularly between groups. These large rectangular shields were used in battle by two men, one pushing the shield forward and another warrior hiding behind the shield and free to use his bow and arrows with great accuracy.  Old photos of fighting in the New Guinea Highlands show many warriors with shields facing off over a large space where people surge forward and then move back.  I have seen warriors standing on rural dirt roads with their shields expecting a fight, this was in the 1980s, and later when people acquired guns then shields became obsolete due to their not being effective against modern guns.    Hanging on the wall in my home it looks amazing.  The shield would have been made in the 1930s as it was old when collected

Provenance: Field Collected by the Geologist by Peter Austin in 1965-1966. Part of his collection was purchased by the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada in 1969 & was published in the book ” New Guinea: Big Man Island ” by ES Rogers in 1970.   

The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art Art

See more Shields in Shields Gallery

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 

 

A Rare Old New Guinea Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Jamasj Asmat People Jufri Village Upper Unir River Area Village Remote NW Asmat Area, South Coast West  Papua (Indonesia)

This beautiful old Shield with the main designs down the center of the shield are Bipane & Flying Fox Feet designs which are related to ritualised headhunting in times past. The designs on this shield are executed solely from the artist’s memory, he would have learned from watching a previous master carver.  The elegant form of the shield with an expressive abstract ancestor’s face is carved at the top with a projection of a phallus.

The way the design is spatially placed on the front looks like it is dancing across the shield, there is great movement in the designs.  The designs are imbued with ancestral powers that will frighten the enemy and make them easy to kill.

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

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.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

Provenance:  Field Collected by Todd Barlin in 1985-86  

Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney 

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.

 

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 Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield Jamasj Asmat People Mbuagani Village Remote NW Asmat Area, South Coast West  Papua (Indonesia) 

See my GALLERIES HERE   https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com

See my New Guinea Shields Gallery here https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/fine-tribal-art/new-guinea-tribal-art-oceanic-art/oceanic-shield/

This fine old shield was carved by an Asmat master carver or Wow Ipitsj who is an important person in the Asmat society, not only are they artists but ritual experts who bridge the living with their ancestors through ceremonial artworks including shields.

The main designs down the center of the shield are called Tar or Flying Foxes which are related to ritualized headhunting in times past. The designs on this shield are executed solely from the artist’s memory, he would have learned from watching a previous master carver. The elegant form of the shield is rounded at the top and bottom and with an expressive face of a totemic turtle or Mbu carved at the top.  The way the design is spatially placed on the front looks like it is dancing across the shield, there is great movement in the designs.

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

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.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

Field Collected by Todd Barlin in 1985-86, at this time Mbuagani Village was a very remote place and the people had little contact with the outside world and they spoke virtually no Bahasa Indonesia, it is a long way to visit this very small village.

No missionaries had tried to convert them as the Maryknoll Catholic Father Vincent Cole who arrived in Sawa Erma in 1980 wanted them to come to it in their own choice and time.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art / Field Collected in 1985-86   See my Biograpohy Here  https://www.oceanicartsaustralia.com/art-for-sale/oceanic-art-society-interview-by-margaret-cassidy/

Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 31 (below)

See my new EXHIBITIONS GALLERY HERE  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 artworks 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.

 

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 Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield from the Asmat People on the Upper Unir River area in Remote Northwest Asmat Area, South Coast West Papua (Indonesia), 19th to very early 20th Century 

This very fine old Shield was collected by the Catholic Mission in the 1950s-1960s, it would date from the late 19th to early 20th Century. It is very similar to some of the first Asmat Shields collected by the Dutch Expeditions in the very early 20th century, those oldest shields collected in 1909 now in the Tropen Museum were smaller like this example and finely carved with the incised designs dancing across the face of the shield.  See the Dutch Expedition Photo 1909 below

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

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.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

This shield has always been my favorite shield and has been in my home since it arrived in Sydney in 1985 -86

Provenance: Catholic Mission Merauke. 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 (see photos below)

Published & Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney Pages 21 & 31 (below)

Provenance: Collected by Todd Barlin 1985-86

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.

 

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 Shield Asmat People Irian Jaya West Papua Todd Barlin Collection

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield from the Asmat People on the Upper Elianden River area in Remote Eastern Asmat Area, South Coast West Papua (Indonesia), Early 20th Century 

This beautiful old shield with striking deeply incised circular designs & highlighted with red and white ochre. The back of the shield has a fine dimpled surface and an old patina from long use. The shield was most likely carved with stone tools,  the people in this area of the Upper Eilanden & Brazza River were still using stone axes when I visited & were extremely excited to get steel axes, machetes & knives, at this time the upper Eilanden River area was a very remote place in and the people had little contact with the outside world and they spoke no Bahasa Indonesia and only came out of the forest to the riverside when they heard outboard engines on canoes hoping to trade for steel axes. No missionaries had tried to convert them yet as they were still living nomadic and free in their forest & built houses in the tree tops for protection both from other tribes and also from mosquitoes who don’t live up in trees.

The physical protection of Shields is only one aspect of their use, shields in New Guinea also play an important ceremonial role & often are the vessel for ancestral spirits and often have a personal name that can be invoked to overpower an enemy.  Shields are often kept in Men’s ceremonial houses along with ancestral relics, old shields are family heirlooms and often have an oral history to them, the owner & their clans’ men often can tell you about every particular arrow or spear embedded in the face of the shield, they know the stories of each battle who might have been wounded or killed & how their shield with its ancestral power frightened or stunned their enemies so that they could be easily overcome.

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.  For the Asmat the connection between trees and people and the forest is profound.

This shield has always been my favorite shield and has been in my home since it arrived from the village.

Provenance: Collected by Todd Barlin 1985-86

Published: The Shields of Melanesia by Crawford House Press 2005 Page 161 Figure 6.8 (above)

Exhibited: The Shields of Oceania 2000 Sydney College of the Arts at Sydney University at the Pacific Arts Festival for the 2000 Sydney Olympics (see photos below)

Exhibited: Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art for the Todd Barlin Collection 2014 Casula Power House Arts Centre Sydney  

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.

 

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 

 

Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Clubs from the 19th Century Australia

Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Clubs from the 19th Century  ( these can be sold as a collection of fice or individually)

Australian Aboriginal Clubs come in many shapes & sizes from the many language groups across the continent of Australia.  Clubs were mainly made for hunting or warfare but also used for dance & ceremonies.

Some varieties were used for hand-to-hand combat, and smaller, lightweight throwing clubs which were employed in both warfare and hunting. Throwing clubs were projectile weapons hurled at human enemies or game from a distance to strike an incapacitating blow. Like many clubs, this work has a pointed, bulbous head intended to deliver a powerful blow to the target. The shaft and head are adorned with incised designs. These might have been purely decorative, but, like many designs in Aboriginal Art, they had deeper cultural significance.

Large boomerang-shaped Clubs from South Australia are some of the most beautiful large clubs.

Here you see Clubs from various areas like South-eastern Australia, Queensland & Central Australia, each club is beautiful & unique.

Provenance: Old Collection Australia and 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.

 

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 Garuda Mask Himalaya Area India or Tibet

A Superb Old Garuda Mask Himalaya Area of India or Tibet 

This beautifully carved old Garuda Mask has the most expressive face that is highly three-dimensional making it more sculptural than an average mask. The feathers on the top of the head are depicted as a crown showing its spiritual importance.

Historically, from classical Indian mythology, Garuda was originally an ancient Hindu sun symbol, half vulture, half-man, who served as the vehicle of the god Vishnu and his wife, Lakshmi, and lived on a diet of Nagas (snakes).

It is not known exactly how old the Garuda is, but from the beginning of the universe, Vishnu, who maintains order, rides a Garuda. The Garuda’s body can grow to cover the whole sky or shrink to the size of a canary. Most of the time, the Garuda appears with the body of a bird with a human torso.

In Buddhist belief, Garuda became the vehicle of Vajrapani and, paired with a twin, the symbol of the transcendent Buddha Amoghasiddhi.

Garuda is yet another form in which various buddhas arise to remove disease and injury caused by Nagas and poisoning. Metaphorically the worst ‘poisons’ are desire, hatred and ignorance.

When the Garuda devours snakes and swallows the poisons of delusion, jealousy, and hatred, and then can transform them into renewed strength, illuminating his body and stretching his wings even more to soar into space.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the Garuda is seen as a protective image decorating doorways and talismans. We can also see the Garuda as one of the four dignities—the four creatures representing the qualities of lungta, or the Wind Horse, one for each cardinal direction: Garuda in the north; Snow Lion in the east; Tiger in the south; and Dragon in the West (in some regions, the directions may change).

They are commonly depicted on lungta prayer flags, which flutter in the wind in high places so that the prayers written on them can be spread to the whole world. The Garuda is also a yidam, especially in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, which prescribes important specifications about his colour and implements so that the practitioner can visualize the Garuda completely.

Provenance: Old Collection Australia & The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic & Asian 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.

 

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