Online catalogue for the 53rd tribal art auction

81 War club

This object is not available any more.

Fidji Islands

wood, dark brown shining patina, short and massive shaft, circular in cross section, nearly entirely coated with a fine plaited grass fibre cuff, a bulky clubs head, rounded on top, surrounded by eight tapering bulges, each set with circular mother of pearl discs, missing parts (two inlays missing)

L: 38,5 cm
L: 15.2 inch

Provenance
French Collection

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 317

Price: 1000 - 1500 €

82 Club "gata"

This object is not available any more.

Fidji Islands

heavy wood, reddish brown patina, massive shaft, about 5 centimeters in cross-section, crowned by a bulky semi-circular vaulted head with projection to the back, the underside bark-like roughed up, the shaft wrapped up with fine plaited plant fibre strings, dyed in dark and reddish brown, semi-circular knob at the bottom, slightly dam., traces of old insect caused damage; these clubs represent the wide open jaws of the pacific Boa snake "gata". A characteristic of the finer "gata" clubs are the roughly carved parallel grooves on the upper inner side. These are deliberately made by carving with stone tools into the growing ironwood sapling before it is harvested and fashioned into a club. The sharpe edge of this club was designed to break bones.

L: 92,5 cm
L: 36.4 inch

Literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. II, Köln 1995, p. 473, ill. 546

Price: 550 - 800 €

83 Ball-headed throwing club "i ula drisia"

This object is not available any more.

Fidji Islands

heavy wood, reddish brown patina, traces of black paint, slim shaft, circular in cross-section, the handle zone decorated with notched ornaments, crowned by a ball-head of jagged conditon, slightly dam., various missing parts

L: 42 cm
L: 16.5 inch

Literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. II, Köln 1995, p. 472, ill. 545

Price: 550 - 800 €

84 Tobacco container "putui" or "tui maimai"

This object is not available any more.

French Polynesia - Marquesas Islands

coconut shell, hollowed, opening (5,5 cm in diameter) on top, the outside entirely decorated with ornamental low-relief carving, showing geometrical motifs, a stylized figural motif ("tiki")inbetween, slightly dam., minor missing parts; designed to fit pleasingly into the palm of the hand, these small vessels are said to have served as tobacco containers and were referred to variously as "putui" or "tui maimai". Originally plugged with a wood stopper. Along with smoking pipes such tobacco containers were highly priced possessions that were occasionally buried with their owners.

H: 13 cm
H: 5.1 inch

Provenance
Harvey Menist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Sold.

85 War club

This object is not available any more.

Tonga

heavy wood, dark reddish brown patina, circular handle zone, merging into a rhomboid cross-section, while getting broader to the top, strengthened by horizontal grooves, arranged in four compartments, slightly dam., minor missing parts (grooves)

H: 83 cm
H: 32.7 inch

Provenance
French Collection

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 310, ill. 9

Price: 1600 - 2400 €

86 Axe with Tridacna blade

This object is not available any more.

Matty Island

a crude carved shaft with a hook-shaped, half-circular hollowed head piece, providing a support plate for a spar, split in the middle for insertion of the heavy tridacna blade, fixed by rotan, very old collection label, hardly readable ("Wuwulu Rio" ?), dam., cracks and traces of old insect caused damage at the shaft, fixing of the blade missing

L: 73 cm (shaft); L: 17,5 cm (blade)
L: 28.7 inch (shaft); L: 6.9 inch (blade)

Price: 1200 - 1800 €

87 Comb

This object is not available any more.

Papua New Guinea - Bismarck Archipelago - Admiralty Islands

twelve wooden sticks, tapering to the end, bond together and fixed by a parinarium nut paste coating, at the same time providing the triangular flattened handle, decorated with a human face, simple incised ornaments on the back, slightly dam., cracks, on base; the most common kind of combs on the islands.

H: 28 cm
H: 11 inch

Literature
Ohnemus, Sylvia, Zur Kultur der Admiralitäts-Insulaner in Melanesien, Die Sammlung Alfred Bühler im Museum für Völkerkunde Basel, Basel 1996, p. 28 f.

Sold.

88 Canoe prow ornament "musumusu"

This object is not available any more.

Salomon Islands, New Georgia

blackened wood, in the shape of a zoomorphic head with a long snout and a two-parted head gear, supplemented by ornamental ears with big circular earrings, carved with a neck and free carved arms, grasping to the front, supporting the protruding chin, lancet-shaped eyes with mother-of-pearl inlay, slightly dam., small missing parts because of insect caused damage (head gear, backside), on metal base; on the Solomon Islands, the canoes that were used for headhunting and bonito fishing were beautifully shaped and had fine carved hulls inlaid with shell so as to become works of art themselves. Small human sculptures were lashed on the prows just above the waterline. They are mostly in the form of seated figures or simply show a head with the hands raised to the chin as here. They served a protective function and were associated with a spirit called "kesoko".

H: 39 cm, 1st quarter 20th Century
H: 15.4 inch, 1st quarter 20th Century

Provenance
Private Collection, Australia

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 280
Wardwell, Allen, Island Ancestors, Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, University of Washington Press 1994, p. 132

Price: 3900 - 5800 €

89 Anthropomorphic post figure

This object is not available any more.

Solomon Islands

wood, crude carved base projecting to the back, carved with a cuboid block, the high towering figure showing a blocklike body with the arms carved close to the trunk, crowned by a head with a triangular flattened facial plane and bulging coiffure, dam., cracks, traces of weathering, lichen, missing parts; houseposts tend to represent or refer to ancestors and historical figures.

H: 1,07 m, 19th Century
H: 1,07 m, 19th Century

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 274 f.

Price: 4600 - 6800 €

90 Bowl

This object is not available any more.

Solomon Islands

blackened wood with haliotis shell inlay, in form of a canoe with a sitting zoomorphic prow ornament on each side, min. dam., missing parts (handle), fissure, slight signs of abrasion; these bowls were used in cermonies to contain foodstuffs.

H: 15 cm; L: 38 cm
H: 5.9 inch; L: 15 inch

Provenance
Jan Lundberg, Malmö, Sweden

Literature
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 272, ill. 8

Price: 2500 - 3800 €