Archives: Art For Sale

Art For Sale

A Superb Old New Guinea Waskuk Nogwi Figure Kwoma People Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Waskuk Nogwi Figure from the Kwoma People on the Upper Sepik River Area in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea

Nogkwi is one of three distinct ceremonies held annually in the villages of the Kwoma, Nukuma, and Mayo speakers of the Upper Sepik River, in a region generally referred to as the Waskuk. These ceremonies are associated with the harvesting of yams.  There are two other Yam Harvest Ceremonies that are associated with a distinctive form of sculpture, Yina & Minja,

Nogwi was the last and most secret Yam Harvest Ceremony, confined to the most powerful, senior men in society who were both homicides and the fathers of many children.

Douglas Newton in his book: Crocodile and Cassowary – Religious Art of the Upper Sepik River, New Guinea”. The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1971, p. 88)

Newton recorded:  “The Honggwa m ma had several supplementary musical performances for the Nogwi, these were duets played on two sacred flutes the rhythms on this occasion representing the calls of Cassowary birds and the blowing of a Conch Shell Trumpet & a wood carved side-blown trumpet, these sounds were the signal to start the work of building of a high fence around the ceremonial house by the young men and after they were sent away.

The Nogwidji or senior men dug a trench along one side of the ceremonial house and the young men then filled the trench with water. A large platform was built over the trench with an aperture above it for a Water Drum. Around the edge of the platform were fixed horizontally with skulls of important ancestors with decorations of shell ornaments trailing to the ground.

The Nogwi carvings were then brought into the house; they were two almost life-size figures of mythical women named Hameiyau and Sanggriayau. The Nogwidji went about the village, from which the women had run away in fear of the figures, smashing the pots belonging to the people of their respective clans–the destruction was later attributed to the female spirits.” At night the men played the Water Drum.  At dawn, the men went into the bush and played the four special instruments. The men then shouted, “Hameiyau and Sanggriayau are escaping catch them catch them “.

The old Nogwi & other Ceremonial Figures are hidden in garden huts, away from the village when not in use, as they have acquired power over time and through use. New carvings are required from time to time; power is not inherent, but develops in the process of carving and painting as their power lies in the bright polychrome ochre paint applied to their surfaces, for the Kwoma the paint is a magical substance that endows the figures with supernatural power and beauty.

The ceremony takes place inside the men’s Ceremonial house (korob) A platform is built, and while one major Nogwi figure is displayed as a focus, many lesser Nogkwi & other associated figures and pottery heads may be used. The Nogkwi are tied to poles on the ceremonial platform and further decorated with shell wealth items, a ‘beard’ made of feather down, pig’s tusks, and sometimes a headdress. Slit gong drums are played and songs of myth relating to the yam harvest are sung. At the finish of the ceremony, the Nogkwi is stripped of its decorations, wrapped tightly in sheaths from the black palm, and returned to the garden hut.

Kwoma has a traditionally oriented ritual and aesthetic life. They believe in a complex pantheon of spirits. These fall into two categories: “bush” or “water” spirits occupying streams, boulders, or other natural features, collectively termed (in pidgin) masalai; and clan spirits depicted by ceremonial carvings.

Like other Sepik peoples they are famous for their art, principally wood carvings and paintings on bark. The bulk of plastic art decorates ceremonial buildings. The ceilings of these structures are lined with hundreds of paintings of totemic species, and the posts and beams are lavishly carved with sculptures depicting mythological personages and spirits. Kwoma men’s houses are among the greatest of all artwork in the Pacific region “.

This very beautiful old Kwoma sculpture has been one of my favourite Oceanic Artworks that I have ever owned, it has a soft gentle surreal feel where often Middle Sepik artworks can seem aggressive, Waskuk/ Kwoma Art in my opinion is one of the great art styles of Papua New Guinea.

Provenance: Collected by William Barclay in New Guinea  1967  & The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art

Exhibited Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art from the Todd Barlin Collection at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre 2014

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 Asmat People West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

A Superb Old New Guinea War Shield from the Asmat People on the South Coast of  West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This fine old and well-used shield was collected at Weo Village on the Wasar River area of the remote Northwest Asmat on the South Coast of West Papua (Irian Jaya) Indonesia.

The carver of this shield  had been deceased for a decade according to the Catholic Priest in Sawa Erma in 1985. The carver was the last great master carver of this very old style of Shield, The shield would date from the 1940s-1950s.  There is one similar shield in the Asmat Museum at the Crosier Mission in Agats Asmat that was collected by my friend Tobias Schneebaum in the 1970s.

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.  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.

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 Oceanic Shields.

I have been collecting New Guinea Shields since 1983 when I bought my very first shield, over the next 35 years I bought the very best New Guinea Shields that I could for my collection;

References:  The Shields of Melanesia ” 2005 Edited by Harry Beran & Barry Craig

This whole book mainly on New Guinea Shields is one of the best references ever published & I owned 28 of the Shields in this book 

I helped write three chapters in the most important book on New Guinea Shields, ” Shields of Melanesia ” 2005  edited by Harry Beran and Barry Craig.  These were the chapters I wrote for this important reference book including a Chapter on the Asmat & South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia.

3.1 Shields from the North Coast of Western New Guinea: Pages 28- 32 : West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

5.1 The Shields of the Highlands of Western New Guinea : Pages 112- 1117  :  Yali Shields Central Highlands West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

6.1 Shields from the Southern Lowlands of Western New Guinea: Pages 155-165 : Four areas of  The Asmat People and Digul River areas.

See my new exhibition 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 Asmat Ancestor Figure West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This Superb Old New Guinea  Ancestor Figure is from the Asmat People on the South Coast of West Papua Irian Jaya Indonesia

This finely carved figural group of three stacked ancestors is done in the style of the most well-known of Asmat artworks called MBis Ancestor Poles, this well might be a section of a large six-meter-tall Bis Pole Sculpture that was damaged and carved to save this section.  Likely carved in the 1960s, it shows the great artistic skills of Asmat Master Cavers or Wow Ipits in the Asmat Language.

The main Asmat creation myth is about the creator Fumeripitjs who was lonely so he carved figures from wood and then 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, it explains the deep bond between the Asmat people and trees & the forest.

The Asmat & their art are well-known partially because Michael Rockefeller Jnr went missing in the Asmat Area on November 17, 1961, he was collecting Asmat Artworks for the then Museum of Primitive Art in New York,  now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where his collection is still beautifully displayed in the Michal Rockefeller Wing of African, Oceanic Arts one of the great Museums in the world

I spent a lot of time in the Asmat region in the early 1980s and Ancestor Figures 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 which 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 which you can see & read in my EXHIBITIONS GALLERY  link below

Look here at my new EXHIBITIONS Gallery.  to see the many places in the world where my artworks have been shown over the past 40 years

Provenance: Professor Jim Peterson (1939-2012) Canberra.  Jim accompanied Robert Mitton to Irian Jaya in 1973 to further the geographic knowledge of this little-known part of the Island of New Guinea. I am pretty certain that this Ancestor figure was collected by Bob Mitton & given as a gift to Jim Peterson as it seems Dr Peterson did not go to the South Coast area where the Asmat are. Travel in West Papua at this time was highly restricted by the Indonesian Government, The Robert Mitton Collection of Asmat & West Papuan Art is at the University of Sydney Chau Chak Wing Museum

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of New Guinea Oceanic Art 

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 just a couple hours’ flight 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 Basket Hook Figure Kwoma People Waskuk Area Upper Sepik River Papua New Guinea

A Superb Old New Guinea Basket Hook Figure from the Kwoma People in the Waskuk Area of the Upper Sepik River East Sepik Province of  Papua New Guinea

This rare and beautiful double-sided Basket Hook Figure was made from the intense creativity of a Kwoma artist, depicting either a power Bush or Water Spirit called sikilawos whose legs & arms are transformed into totemic birds.  It is beautifully painted with both ochre and trade paint.  This is the only Kwoma Sculpture or similar Basket Hook Figure that I have ever seen.

Basket Hooks were used for protecting food or other objects from rodents, the hook would hang from the ceiling by a rope, and string bags were hung from the hook with food or other important objects that then could not be reached by rats or mice, a simple effective technology used by cultures around the world.

Sepik River artists made many beautiful unitarian art objects like Basket Hooks that were both functional and a way of honoring and making visible their ancestors and spirits in daily life.

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

This very beautiful old Kwoma sculpture has been one of my favourite Oceanic Artworks that I have ever owned, it has a soft gentle surreal feel where often Middle Sepik artworks can seem aggressive, Waskuk/ Kwoma Art in my opinion is one of the great art styles of Papua New Guinea.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic Art

Exhibited Oceanic Arts Pacifica: Oceanic Art from the Todd Barlin Collection at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre 2014

The Kwoma people and their closely related neighbors the Nukuma and Manambu share a unique tradition revolving around the cultivation of yams. An annual series of rituals associated with the yam harvest ensures the tuber’s continuing abundance and renders it suitable for human consumption. Clans sponsor the events, which are staged in a sequence of three rituals each involving different types of figures.

For the annual ceremonies, both old and new sculptures are freshly painted, as their power lies in the bright polychrome ochre paint applied to their surfaces, for the Kwoma people the paint is a magical substance that endows the figures with supernatural power and beauty.

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 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 Fine New Guinea Sago Spathe Painting Keram River Lower Sepik River Area East Sepik Province Papua New Guinea

A Fine New Guinea Sago Spathe Painting from the Keram River Area in the Lower Sepik River Area of the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea

Throughout New Guinea, men’s ceremonial houses or Haus Tambaran were the primary focus for painting and sculpture. This beautiful painting represents a specific clan’s ancestors’ spirits or supernatural beings & totemic animals like birds.

Typically, entry into the ceremonial house is restricted to initiated men, although in some cases, women and children can enter under certain circumstances for specific events. Ceremonial houses serve as the venue for nearly all important male religious rites – such as initiation rites for young boys – and at other times function as meeting houses or informal gathering places. Their structure and the way they are decorated can take on many different local forms and styles.

Paintings are made on sheets of bark or sago, the bark-like bases of the leaves of the sago palm tree, which are trimmed and flattened to create a flat roughly rectangular surface that tapers slightly according to the natural form. After a curing process, the artist covers the smooth side of the sheet with a wash of black clay. The main outlines of the design are laid out in clear water, retraced in paint, and then filled in with colour. Although one man lays out the design, an assistant may perform the work of infilling and painting the bordering dots.

When completed, the paintings are tied to the rafters on the underside of the ceiling with lengths of split cane. The panels are arranged lengthwise along the axis of the house, with a few rows placed laterally at its midpoint. The midpoint forms not only the center of the structure–the most ritually important area–but also roughly indicates the sectors allotted to each clan evoking the strength, unity, and identity of the village clans, whose members gather on the earthen floor beneath them to perform religious rites or initiation ceremonies.

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 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 Australia Aboriginal Shield from Western Australia

A Superb Old Australia Aboriginal Shield Bardi People Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia  

This finely carved shield with a rare geometric & herringbone design on the front and was coated with ceremonial red ochre, the back has incised linear striations in horizontal bands. The deep lug handle and entire shield has an old dry patina. 19th to early 20th Century.

Shields are one of the most beautiful objects made by the indigenous people in Australia. This finely carved shield has the same design elements on both the front and the back, the incised design consists of horizontal bands of vertical striations and then followed by a band of wavy lines this is repeated from the top to the bottom of the shield to beautiful effect.

The role of shields in tribal culture is to provide personal defense against blows and missiles; also, importantly shields serve to reflect an image of power, identity, and tribal group. Each tribal group has different design elements on their shields which instantly make them identifiable to other tribes.

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

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 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 Aboriginal Painting (a numbered screen print of the original) from Western Arnhem Land Northern Territory Australia

This Superb Painting  ( a numbered signed print of the original) by the famous Artist  Bardyal (Lofty) Nadjamerrek, (1926-2009) from the Outstation Gamarrwagan, Western Arnhem Land Northern Australia  Language: Kunwinjku

“ The Meeting “ circa 1980. The original Painting is likely in an Australian public collection
This Numbered screen print 108 or 500/ signed & artist thumbprint on edge.  On Archival Thick Paper

This superb painting called ” The Meeting ”  depicts a ceremonial gathering in the artist’s land.

He began painting works for sale on bark in 1969 at Oenpelli and has developed an outstanding reputation first as a painter on bark and more recently on paper, using traditional ochre pigments.
His X-ray style of painting is strongly linked back to the tradition of painting on rock and his own experience as a young man. He is particularly known for paintings of Ngalyod and Yingarna (the Rainbow Serpents).

In 1972 Bardyal left Oenpelli and returned to clan lands in western Arnhem Land and in 1988 he moved to Gamarrwagan where he has lived ever since.

Lofty possesses a rich store of mythological knowledge. As a ritually senior man, he is responsible for Ancestral sites and mythologies from his own
patrilineal clan lands (father’s country). For this reason, he is known as Djungay (manager).
Subjects and Themes: Rainbow serpents, other mythical beings; animals

Collections held: National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Australian Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney), numerous other museums and major collections.

Cross-hatching on bark paintings called Raark is one of the most distinctive and beautiful features of Arnhem Land Bark Paintings closely-spaced fine lines are drawn in particular colours, intersecting each other. The chosen colours may be specific to a particular clan, and the effect is difficult to describe but produces a deep impression on the viewer. Traditionally, the most sacred designs drawn on bodies during ceremonies were drawn with a quality called “bir’yun”, which is loosely translated as scintillation (as in the twinkling of stars) but carries a connotation of sunlight reflected off the sparkling water.

Indigenous Artists from the Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, use crushed earth ochre pigments to paint on sheets of eucalyptus bark, they paint beautiful spiritual images of deep cultural significance that show their spiritual connection with specific tracts of country

Arnhem Land Rock Art sites are some thousands of years old where ancient rock shelters were painted and maintained over generations, Arnhem Land is world-renowned for its Rock Art.

The designs seen on Arnhem Land Bark Paintings are traditional designs that are owned by the artist, or his “skin”, or his clan, and cannot be painted by other artists. In many cases, these designs would traditionally be used to paint the body for ceremonies or rituals, and also to decorate logs used in ceremonies. Artists also would paint designs on the bark walls and roofs of their shelters where stayed during seasonal food gathering.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Australian Aboriginal

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 

 

Louvre Museum Magazine Review of Todd’s Exhibition Asmat et Mimika d’ Irian Jaya April 1996 At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE, Paris

Louvre Museum Magazine Review of Todd’s Exhibition Asmat et Mimika d’ Irian Jaya April 1996 At THE MUSEE NATIONAL des ARTS D’AFRIQUE et d’ OCEANIE, Paris France. 
Published in the prestigious Louvre Museum Magazine June 1996.  Read the PDF in English & French
The Artworks are now in the permanent collection of the Musée du quai Branly & are some of the first artworks you see when walking into the Oceanic Art Pavilion at The Musée du quai Branly

This superb exhibition of the traditional Arts of The Asmat & Mimika (Kormoro) people of West Papua, held in the grand buildings of the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

In 1985-86 Todd Barlin spent six months living with the Asmat & Kamoro (Mimika) people which culminated in a collection of artworks & field photos from both of these amazing cultures. During this time I stayed in remote villages for weeks at a time and it was a chance to get to know people and let them get to know you. I lived as they did, ate what they had each day, and also suffered problems such as malaria and dengue fever. Despite the fortuitous and unpredictable circumstances, this was a magical pre-digital era – before the internet, mobile phones, or television exposed remote villages to the outside world. I often stayed for six to eight months a year traveling in remote areas and for that time it was as if the rest of the world did not exist.”

 

 

The History of The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie

The Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie (National Museum of Arts of Africa and Oceania) was a museum formerly located in the Palais de la Porte Dorée on the edge of the Bois de Vincennes at 293, avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France.

The museum began as the colonial exhibition of 1931, was renamed in 1935 the Musée de la France d’Outre-mer, then in 1960 the Musée des Arts africains et océaniens, and finally in 1990 the Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie.

In 2003 the museum’s collection was merged into the Musée du Quai Branly, and in its place the Palais de la Porte Dorée now houses the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration. Its tropical aquarium remains in the cellar of the Palais de la Porte Dorée and is open to the public.

A superb old Aboriginal Bark Painting from Western Arnhem Land Northern Territory Australia

This Superb Old Bark Painting of  Bininj the First Ancestor and Naljord the Rainbow Serpent Oenpelli Area in Western Arnhem Land Northern Australia

This rare and beautiful painting depicts Bininj the First Ancestor and Naljord the Rainbow Serpent who appears to be gently licking Bininj the First Ancestor’s face.

The rainbow serpent is a powerful mythological figure for all Aboriginal people throughout Australia. Characteristics of the rainbow serpent vary greatly from group to group and also depending on the site. Often viewed as a female generative figure, the rainbow serpent can sometimes also be male. She has both powers of creation and destruction and is most strongly associated with rain, monsoon seasons, and of course, the colour seen in rainbows which arc across the sky like a giant serpent. For Aboriginal people in Northern Australia, the rainbow serpent is said to be active during the wet season.

Known as Ngalyod in Western and Central Arnhem Land, the rainbow serpent is mostly associated with bodies of water such as billabongs, creeks, rivers, and waterfalls where she resides. Therefore, she is responsible for the production of most water plants such as water lilies, water vines, algae and palms, which grow near water. The roar of waterfalls in the escarpment country is said to be her voice. Large holes in stony banks of rivers and cliff faces are said to be her tracks. She is held in awe because of her apparent ability to renew her life by shedding her skin and emerging anew.

Cross-hatching on bark paintings called Raark is one of the most distinctive and beautiful features of Arnhem Land Bark Paintings closely-spaced fine lines are drawn in particular colours, intersecting each other. The chosen colours may be specific to a particular clan, and the effect is difficult to describe but produces a deep impression on the viewer. Traditionally, the most sacred designs drawn on bodies during ceremonies were drawn with a quality called “bir’yun”, which is loosely translated as scintillation (as in the twinkling of stars) but carries a connotation of sunlight reflected off the sparkling water.

Indigenous Artists from the Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, use crushed earth ochre pigments to paint on sheets of eucalyptus bark, they paint beautiful spiritual images of deep cultural significance that show their spiritual connection with specific tracts of country

Arnhem Land Rock Art sites are some thousands of years old where ancient rock shelters were painted and maintained over generations, Arnhem Land is world-renowned for its Rock Art.

The designs seen on Arnhem Land Bark Paintings are traditional designs that are owned by the artist, or his “skin”, or his clan, and cannot be painted by other artists. In many cases, these designs would traditionally be used to paint the body for ceremonies or rituals, and also to decorate logs used in ceremonies. Artists also would paint designs on the bark walls and roofs of their shelters where stayed during seasonal food gathering.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Australian Aboriginal

If you have any Bark Paintings I am always interested in buying & I pay top prices for Bark Paintings that I like.

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 Fine Old Australian Aboriginal Bark Painting From NE Arnhem Land Northern Territory

A Superb Old Australian Aboriginal Bark Painting From NE Arnhem Land Northern Territory. Circa 1977 

This beautiful older Bark Painting is from the Northeast Arnhem Land area of the Northern Territory of Australia. The Painting depicts Possusms and the Marrawili Tree and there is a very fine Raark or cross-hatching

Cross-hatching called Raark is one of the most distinctive and beautiful features of Arnhem Land Bark Paintings Closely-spaced fine lines are drawn in particular colours, intersecting each other. The chosen colours may be specific to a particular clan, and the effect is difficult to describe but produces a deep impression on the viewer. Traditionally, the most sacred designs drawn on bodies during ceremonies were drawn with a quality called “bir’yun”, which is loosely translated as scintillation (as in the twinkling of stars) but carries a connotation of sunlight reflected off the sparkling water.

Indigenous Artists from the Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, use crushed earth ochre pigments to paint on sheets of eucalyptus bark, they paint beautiful spiritual images of deep cultural significance that show their spiritual connection with specific tracts of country

Arnhem Land Rock Art sites are some thousands of years old where ancient rock shelters were painted and maintained over generations, Arnhem Land is world-renowned for its Rock Art.

The designs seen on Arnhem Land Bark Paintings are traditional designs that are owned by the artist, or his “skin”, or his clan, and cannot be painted by other artists. In many cases, these designs would traditionally be used to paint the body for ceremonies or rituals, and also to decorate logs used in ceremonies. Artists also would paint designs on the bark walls and roofs of their shelters where stayed during seasonal food gathering.

Provenance: The Todd Barlin Collection of Oceanic and Australian Aboriginal

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