13-22 March
Songye Figure Wood, horn, leather, feathers, iron, copper alloy, reptile skin, ivory, cowries, vegetable fibre Height 95 cm Provenance: Klaus Clausmeyer, Cologne (circa 1887– 1968); Henri L. Schouten, Amsterdam, 1983; Private collection, Belgium
Yombe Figure Wood, leather and skin, cloth, twine, mirror, ritual mixture Height 29 cm Democratic Republic of the Congo Provenance: Piet Blanckaert collection, Knokke; Jean-Pierre Jernander collection, Brussels; Hélène et Philippe Leloup collection, NY/Paris, 1998; Private collection, Belgium Literature: P. Nahon, Quelques impressions d’Afrique, Vence, château N-D. des Fleurs, La Différence éd, 1996, no. 337; Cornet, exh. cat. Kongo. Objets de bois. Objets d’ivoire, Paris, Galerie Leloup, 1998, no. 14, cover & p. 11; Exh. cat. Arts d’Afrique. Voir l’Invisible, Bordeaux, Musée d’Aquitaine, 2011, no. 223, p. 193
Patric Didier Claes Rue Van Moer 7 B-1000 Brussels Belgium T +32 2 414 19 29 M +32 477 66 02 06 www.didierclaes.com afriquepremier@yahoo.fr
A very fine and early Grade Mask representing an old and emaciated ancestor. Masks of this type are thought to have been used to initiate the members of secret societies as they passed through the different Grade levels of ceremonial, religious, and magical knowledge. It is probable that only the highest levels were allowed to see and use these masks. Northern Malekula Island or possibly Vao Island, Vanuatu, Melanesia. Hard reddish wood with a fine patina of usage and age. 22,5 cm. 18th/19th century. Acquired originally at a fleamarket in Le Mans, France. Provenance: Ex Alain Schoffel. An exceptional short war-club of the apa ‘apai type. Tongan Archipelago, Polynesia. Iron wood (casuarina esquisetifolia) carved with stone tools, minor wear and a superb glossy patina of use and age. 18th/19th century, 74,5 cm long. Literature: Ref. : Mills, Andy : AKAU TAU: CONTEXTUALISING TONGAN WAR-CLUBS in The Journal of the Polynesian Society, Volume 118, N° 1, 2009 Weener, Frans-Karel : TONGAN CLUB ICONOGRAPHY: AN ATTEMPT TO UNRAVEL VISUAL METAPHORS THROUGH MYTH in The Journal of the Polynesian Society Volume 116, No. 4, 2007
Galerie Meyer - Oceanic Art 17, rue des Beaux-Arts 75006 Paris France T +33 1 43 54 85 74 M +33 680 10 80 22 F +33 1 43 54 11 12
A superb pair of snow-goggles carved to represent the human face. This exceptional example is carved with a remarkable level of impressionistic realism. The delicate features are rendered with a soft touch and there is a slight but definite Asian feeling to the face. The presence of the blue glass trade beads, inserted into the wood on the underside to represent the male labrets (lip or cheek plugs worn by men), add to the over all quality of this magnificent pair of snow goggles. Eskimo, possibly the Chukchi population of Eastern Siberia. Pine wood (cedar?) and European glass trade beads. 14, 8 x 3,6 cm. 19th/20th century. Ex private collection, France. Literature: Ref.: Fitzhugh, W. & Kaplan, S. (Ed.): INUA – The Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1982. A set of four Korwar Fighting Spears with Indigenous forged Iron Blades Hard wood with a glossy patina of age and usage, and locally work iron (one shaft cut in middle and reassembled with bronze sleeve). The shafts are carved with classical Korwar ornamental motifs - two spears have deeply incised Korwar ancestor faces just below the blade (A, C). The blades are forged in the Indonesian fashion using the fold and hammer technique to create a multi-layered blade of a style known as pattern Damascus. Longest 249 cm, shortest 230.5 cm Korwar Area, Vogelkop Peninsula, Indonesian New Guinea, Melanesia, 19th century Provenance: These spears were collected by army physician Dr. Gijsbertus Adrian Johan van der Sande (Arnhem 1863-1910 Soerabaja) during the 1903 Wichman expedition (also known as the North New Guinea Expedition) to the Geelvink and Humboldt bay area of Dutch New Guinea. Ex Collection Dr. van der Sande, Arnhem-Velp; by descent through the family. Literature: F.S.A. De Clercq, J.D.E. Schmeltz, Ethnographische beschrijving van de west- en noordkust van Nederlandsch Nieuw- Guinea, P.W.M. Trap, Leiden, 1893, p.144; F. Kamma, S. Kooijman, ‘Romana Forja - Children of the Fire’, in Mededelingen van het Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, No. 18, Leiden, 1973
Bakongo “Nkisi” figure DRC Wood, metal, glass, feather 19th century 17.3 in. Provenance: 1980: Alain de Monbrison, Paris 1981 : advertising in UCLA African Arts, Novembre 1981, page 12, for Galerie Concord William Moore, Los Angeles; Morton Lipkin, London; Henri Schouten, Amsterdam Années 1980 : Morton Lipkin, Phoenix, Arizona 1996 : Collection de Roy et Bentley Dillard, Phoenix, Arizona 1997 : James Willis Tribal Art Gallery exhibition: Art of the Kongo, Février - Mai 1998 2009 – 2014 : Exhibited at De Young Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco
Lucas Ratton 33 rue de Seine 75006 Paris Tél : + 33 (0)1 46 33 06 24 E-mail : primitivart@gmail.com Web : www.lucasratton.com
Bambara ‘Tyiwara’ Wood Height 42.5 cm Mali, Sikasso region, 19th century Provenance: André Schoeller’s collection, Paris Literature: Tyiwara Catalogue, Galerie Ratton-Hourdé, 2001, p.18; Jean-Paul Colleyn, Bamana : the art of existence in Mali, New York, Zürich, Gent, 2001, p.219. cat. 204 Exhibitions: Tyiwara, Galerie Ratton-Hourdé, Paris, June 2001 Fang statue in ‘N’toumou’ style Wood Height 42.5 cm Gabon, Fang, 19th century Provenance: Arman collection, France Literature: Sweeney, African Negro Art, New York, The MoMa, 1935; p.?; Perrois, Byeri Fang-Sculptures d’ancêtres en Afrique, Marseille, Musée d’Arts africains, Océaniens, Amérindiens, 1992, p.80; African faces, African figures. The Arman collection, New York, The museum of African art, 1997, p. 73; Arman et l’Art africain, Marseille, 1996, p. 80; Fang, Galerie Ratton-Hourdé... Exhibitions: New York, The MoMa, African Negro Art, 1935; Marseille, MAAO, Byeri-Fang, 1992; New York, The Museum of African Art, African faces, African figures, The Arman collection, 1997-1998; Paris, Galerie Ratton-Hourdé, Fang, 2006