oceania | New Ireland
Dance ornament
New Ireland
Hornbill Mouth Ornament for Malagan Rituals
New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea
Early 20th century or earlier
Carved wood, pigments, beads, shells
Length: 25 cm – 9 ¾ in.
Provenance
Collection Georges Goldfayn (1933- 2019), France
Collection Dr. Jean-Philippe. Beaulieu, France
Malagan dance ornament 25 cm / Galerie Flak
Price: on request
This bird figure (hornbill) is a dance ornament that was held between the teeth by a dancer or sometimes placed in the mouth of a mask during the ritual ceremonies of the Malangan (Malagan).
Regarding the provenance: George Goldfayn (1933-2019) was an author, publisher, man of letters and cinema. Passionate about art, he was closely associated with the Surrealist circle in Paris from 1950 onwards. A close friend and confidant of André Breton, Georges Goldfayn participated in the launch of the gallery À l'Étoile scellée, 11 rue du Pré-aux-Clercs in Paris at the end of 1952. Breton was the artistic director while Goldfayn was the gallery administrator.
Under the aegis of André Breton, he began collecting ancient Oceanic and North American art in the 1950s and continued to do so until his death.
Regarding the provenance: George Goldfayn (1933-2019) was an author, publisher, man of letters and cinema. Passionate about art, he was closely associated with the Surrealist circle in Paris from 1950 onwards. A close friend and confidant of André Breton, Georges Goldfayn participated in the launch of the gallery À l'Étoile scellée, 11 rue du Pré-aux-Clercs in Paris at the end of 1952. Breton was the artistic director while Goldfayn was the gallery administrator.
Under the aegis of André Breton, he began collecting ancient Oceanic and North American art in the 1950s and continued to do so until his death.
The dancer holding a Hornbill mouthpiece.
Photograph, 1909
© Institute of Historical and Cultural Anthropology – Universität Tübingen.
Courtesy Jean-Philippe Beaulieu archives
Publication
Documentation
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