Medias/Digital
PAD Paris 2017
PAD Paris PAD Paris Art + Design
22-26 March 2017
Tuileries Gardens, Paris
Stand 53
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PAD Paris 2017
Julien Flak
PARIS TRIBAL 2017
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PARIS TRIBAL 2017
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Poupée Kachina
Archives | Arizona
Poupée Kachina
Arizona
Hopi
Ahote Katsina
Carved wood (cottonwood), natural pigments
Circa 1920-30
Height: 24 cm
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Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
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Ibeji
Archives | Nigeria / Benin
Ibeji
Nigeria / Benin
Ere Ibeji twin figures
Yoruba
Nago Style
Early 20th century
Carved wood, beads
Height: 10 ¼ in and 10 ½ in.
26 cm et 27 cm
Provenance
Ex collection Alain de Monbrison, Paris
Ex collection Alberto Costa, Barcelona
Ex Sotheby’s Paris, 14 Dec. 2016, lot 72
Ex collection Javier Lentini, Spain
Exhibition
Barcelona, Centre Cultural de la Fundacion “la Caixa”, Africa : Magia y poder. 2500 anos de arte en Nigeria, September 23th – December 13th, 1998
Literature
Africa : Magia y poder. 2500 anos de arte en Nigeria, Picton & Coquet, 1998, n° 171
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The statuettes linked to twin worship, are called ere ibeji in the Yoruba language: ere signifying a sacred image, ibi born and eji a double. Symbols of prestige, wealth and fecundity, ere ibeji figures also guaranteed the perpetuation of future generations. These effigies of ancestors were an integral part of everyday activities, punctuating the family life of the Yoruba. Subject to very codified rituals, ere ibeji figures were pampered, with their care including feeding, washing and oiling.
They were considered to be living beings, a reincarnation of ancestor-twins. Representations always showed them at the peak of their strength and power in adulthood.
They were considered to be living beings, a reincarnation of ancestor-twins. Representations always showed them at the peak of their strength and power in adulthood.
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Fang Mask
Archives | Gabon
Fang Mask
Gabon
Carved wood and pigments
Early 20th century
Height: 9 ¾ in. (25 cm)
Collected before 1914
Colonial estate
By descent
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Yup’ik Mask
Archives | Alaska
Yup’ik Mask
Alaska
Lower Yukon
Carved wood and pigments
Late 19th or early 20th century
Height: 7 ¼ in. (18.5 cm)
Bought in Alaska in the 1930s
Ex collection Madeline Thomas Langworthy
(1893-1980), California
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The artist Madeline Langworthy put together her collection of Eskimo masks over a short period in the early 1930s by visiting the first galleries of « curiosities » in Alaska (Bear Totem Store, U.S. Mercantile Co.). Throughout her life, Madeline Langworthy shared her passion with other collectors and scholars. Among them was Frederick J. Dockstader, the then Deputy Director of the Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian in New York, with whom she corresponded until the late 1950s.
Of great sobriety, the mask presented here combines human features with the snout of a seal, the manifestation of a spirit-guide with whom the dancer/shaman entered into contact by putting himself into a trance.
In terms of style, it can be compared with a shamanic mask representing the spirit of a sea-lion, in the collections of the Rietberg Museum in Zurich (gift of Eduard von der Heydt, inv. RNA 1).
Of great sobriety, the mask presented here combines human features with the snout of a seal, the manifestation of a spirit-guide with whom the dancer/shaman entered into contact by putting himself into a trance.
In terms of style, it can be compared with a shamanic mask representing the spirit of a sea-lion, in the collections of the Rietberg Museum in Zurich (gift of Eduard von der Heydt, inv. RNA 1).
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War Shield
Archives | Papua New Guinea
War Shield
Papua New Guinea
Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands
Carved wood, binding, pigments
Early to mid 20th century
Height: 60 ½ in. (154 cm)
Length: 27 ¼ in. (69 cm)
Ex collection Chris Boylan, Sydney
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These large shields, as tall as the men who used them, were used in clan wars that set the rhythm of the life in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
The central design depicts the “Sun”, a classical representation on Wahgi shields. Along the top edge, the binding is particularly fine.
War shields in the Highlands
In all parts of New Guinea, and notably in the central mountains (Highlands), the various clans or tribes constantly competed for control of the best lands. Shields were named after warriors. They were imbued with a life essence, or spirit, that connected them to their ancestors. When warfare was expected, warriors repainted their shields to ensure that the colors shone brilliantly against the sun to dazzle and threaten the opposing side.
The central design depicts the “Sun”, a classical representation on Wahgi shields. Along the top edge, the binding is particularly fine.
War shields in the Highlands
In all parts of New Guinea, and notably in the central mountains (Highlands), the various clans or tribes constantly competed for control of the best lands. Shields were named after warriors. They were imbued with a life essence, or spirit, that connected them to their ancestors. When warfare was expected, warriors repainted their shields to ensure that the colors shone brilliantly against the sun to dazzle and threaten the opposing side.
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Tevau
Currency roll
Archives | Solomon Islands
Tevau
Currency roll
Solomon Islands
Feather currency / bridal wealth
Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands
Wood, red feathers and shells
Early 20th century
Height: 22 ½ in. (57.5 cm)
Length: 32 ¾ in. (83 cm)
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These red-feather money rolls from the Santa Cruz Islands constitute one of the Pacific’s most spectacular and graphic forms of currency.
Once uncoiled, this money roll called tevau is roughly 30 ft. (9 meters) long. A multitude of rectangular plates covered with feathers are overlapped and affixed to a fiber armature. The feathers are those of the Myzomelia cardinalis, a scarlet bird that feeds on honey.
Feather money was used in Santa Cruz as a form of currency for settling important obligations. Tevau were also given as payment on the occasion of a wedding as bride price.
Once uncoiled, this money roll called tevau is roughly 30 ft. (9 meters) long. A multitude of rectangular plates covered with feathers are overlapped and affixed to a fiber armature. The feathers are those of the Myzomelia cardinalis, a scarlet bird that feeds on honey.
Feather money was used in Santa Cruz as a form of currency for settling important obligations. Tevau were also given as payment on the occasion of a wedding as bride price.
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Mumuye
Archives | Nigeria
Mumuye
Nigeria
Carved wood
Early 20th century
Height: 36 ½ in. (93 cm)
Ex collection Pierre Parat, Paris
Yale University GvR Archive 0108061
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The Mumuye live in the foothills of the Shebshi Mountains near the banks of the Benue in eastern Nigeria. This agrarian people is comprised of three different dialectal groups, and was long unknown to Westerners, who discovered their art only in the late 1960s.
The Mumuye used sculptures called Iagalagana in different rituals: the figures played a central role in ancestor worship and in curing ceremonies. They served as intercessors between the spirit world and that of men, and served as proof of the high status of the family that owned them.
The Mumuye used sculptures called Iagalagana in different rituals: the figures played a central role in ancestor worship and in curing ceremonies. They served as intercessors between the spirit world and that of men, and served as proof of the high status of the family that owned them.
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Kachina Doll
Archives | Arizona
Kachina Doll
Arizona
Hopi
Kowako Katsina – Rooster kachina Doll
Carved wood (cottonwood), natural pigments
Circa 1930s
Height: 11 ¼ in. (28.5 cm)
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Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
Explore the entire collection
Archives