Sale Zemanek-Münster

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Tribal Art

Primitive Art

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Zemanek-Münster - Würzburg

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Standing figure
Vanuatu

fernwood, dark brown patina, reddish pigment remains, showing an elongated head with prominent nose, min. dam., missing parts (arms, feet), on metal base;
during his lifetime, a man of Vanuatu might ascend through as many as twenty individually named grades in his society, attaining more status and power with each elevation. At each ceremony, the sponsering individual had the right to wear certain types of ritual paraphernalia and sometimes masks or headdresses. Specific objects were displayed and special structures were built for the events. The man also had the right to have a figure made of fernwood, its form dependant on the codes of the particular grade level. These sculptures were displayed on platforms in shelters under which dances were performed. During the ceremonies, it was believed that the figures became inhabited with the spirits of ancestors.
H: 110 cm, (5262/001)

Provenance:
Coll. Ralf Lüders, Stuttgart, Germany

Lit.: Wardwell, Allen, Island Ancestors, Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, University of Washington Press 1994, p. 140
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 285, ill. 1

Standing figure
Vanuatu

fernwood, dark brown patina, reddish pigment remains, showing an elongated head with prominent nose, min. dam., missing parts (arms, feet), on metal base;
during his lifetime, a man of Vanuatu might ascend through as many as twenty individually named grades in his society, attaining more status and power with each elevation. At each ceremony, the sponsering individual had the right to wear certain types of ritual paraphernalia and sometimes masks or headdresses. Specific objects were displayed and special structures were built for the events. The man also had the right to have a figure made of fernwood, its form dependant on the codes of the particular grade level. These sculptures were displayed on platforms in shelters under which dances were performed. During the ceremonies, it was believed that the figures became inhabited with the spirits of ancestors.
H: 110 cm, (5262/001)

Provenance:
Coll. Ralf Lüders, Stuttgart, Germany

Lit.: Wardwell, Allen, Island Ancestors, Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection, University of Washington Press 1994, p. 140
Newton, Douglas (Hg.), Arts of the South Seas, The Collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, München, London, New York 1999, p. 285, ill. 1