A MAGNIFICENT, EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT URAMA ISLAND, IWAINÓ, KINOMERE VILLAGE, HALFFIGURE OF THE GOD IRIWÁKE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Collected in situ by Thomas Schultze-Westrum on either February 10^th or 19^th, 1966 (according to inscription on nose plug)
Loed van Bussel, Amsterdam, acquired from the above in 1972 (van Bussel accession no. 'V.BUSSEL.ZB.012')
John A. Friede, Rye, acquired from the above

Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo, Sculptur uit Afrika en Oceanië – Sculpture from Africa and Oceania, November 17, 1990 – January 20, 1991

Toos van Kooten and Gerard van den Heuvel (eds.), Sculptur uit Afrika en Oceanië – Sculpture from Africa and Oceania, Otterlo, 1990, p. 327, cat. no. 121

Stable condition overall; the proper left arm broken and reattached in a native repair (pierced holes on both sides of the break line and a joining vegetal strap used to tie the arm to the body, as seen on photographs) which was later stabilized by a western restorer who inserted dowels which are hidden behind the fibers (invisible from the front); the proper right arm broken three times (through elbow, forearm at 1/4 length from the elbow, upper arm at 1/4 length from the elbow), the proper left arm two times at 1/2 length and at wrist, the whole stabilized with a reinforcement structure which has been embedded into a continues concave channel on the reverse, following the figure's central line, which has subsequently been filled and painted, resulting in the reinforcement structure being invisible on the surface but detectable as change in color of the figure's plain surface on the reverse; insect damage and erosion throughout with partial fills and surface restoration, including areas on the forhead and nose, proper left arm (at the above described break lines and in a circular area in the proximity of the elbow), proper right arm (at the above described break lines), and the lower torso (in the dark painted part); both nose plug and necklace disc were previously broken and have been reassembled with all original parts remaining, the noseplug inscribed by Schultze-Westrum's hand; aged surface with multiple layers of red, brown and white pigments.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

PROLOGUE

One of the great masterpieces from the Papuan Gulf Region of Papua New Guinea, the Half-figure of the god IRIWÁKE is an image of monumental majesty and magical power. Only one other figure of this extremely rare iconography is known to exist. 

The offered lot is extremely well documented for a work of art from Papua New Guinea: not only do we know the name of the represented deity and have a clear idea about his place in the pantheon of the Iwaino people, but also can we trace the object back to the exact place (Kinomere village) and time period (February 9 or 19, 1966) of its collecting in situ.

THE ART FROM THE PAPUAN GULF

The Papuan Gulf of New Guinea is one of the island's most important cultural regions. However, until recently this art was little known and only less than two years ago entered the lime-light of international attention, following an encyclopedic exhibition on the art of this region at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Coaxing the Spirits to Dance. Art and Society in the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea, October 24, 2006 - September 2, 2007).

As the exhibition's curator, Professor Robert Welsch, notes in the accompanying catalogue (Welsch 2006: 4): "Known to outsiders for well over a century, this region's art has remained one of the least understood art traditions on the island. The gulf region extends for some three hundred miles along the south coast of Papua New Guinea, from the Fly River in the west to Cape Possession in the east, about one hundred miles northwest of Port Morresby, the modern, bustling national capital. Around Cape Possession the savannah-covered hills of the capital region give way to the lower, rainforest-clad hills of the Motu-Motu area, which in turn give way to much flatter, low-lying, and swampy country further to the west. In the eastern gulf area live more than a dozen closely related Elema peoples, including the Motu-Motu, Toaripi, Kerema, Vailala, and Orokolo. West of the Alele River begins the delta country, which is inhabited by the six peoples of the Purari Delta, who speak a language different from but related to that spoken by the Elema peoples. Further west live the peoples of Urama Island [...]."

Dirk Smidt (in Kooten and Heuvel 1990: 322) continues: "Two-dimensional boards and figures of the Gulf of Papua have, due to the linear qualities of the relief motifs, attracted the attention of Western artists. Thus the art of the Gulf of Papua formed one of the favorite art styles of Max Ernst, who was so fascinated by it that he assembled a collection of more than twenty-five woodcarvings from this area." Many other authors have pointed out further affinities between the art from the Papuan gulf and the work of modern artists. For the example of Jean Dubuffet see Varnedoe (in Rubin 1984: 638-639).

THE VAN BUSSEL IRIWÁKE

For more than 30 years, the Half-figure of IRIWÁKE counted among the most iconic masterpieces of the renowned van Bussel Collection in Amsterdam. In 1990 the work was included in the landmark exhibition Sculpture from Africa and Oceania in the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, an encyclopedic show curated by Frank Herreman that juxtaposed major works of African and Oceanic art. As Smidt (loc. cit.: 326) eplains in the accompanying catalog, the name IRIWÁKE  "probably derives from iri (wood, tree, jungle) and váke (human being). "Iriváke" was a mythical figure who occupied an important place in the world view both of the Iwainó and of other tribes in the eastern part of the [river] delta. He was seen as a powerful spirit or deity who laid the foundations for headhunting and the display of trophies in the men's houses. In primeval times he climbed to the sky up a tall tree to remain enthroned as heavenly deity in the clouds, from where he now and again releases thunder and lightning."

The van Bussel IRIWÁKE, an anthropomorphic torso with massive raised arms framing the elliptically shaped head, was clearly worked with stone tools and thus can be dated to the pre-contact period. Its iconography is extremely rare. The only other known example was photographed in situ in 1925 by Paul B. de Rautenfeld, a former inspector for the Chinese Maritime Customs Service who worked in Asia for thirty years and traveled extensively before and after his mandatory retirement in 1925, including three trips to Papua New Guinea. The circumstances of the discovery of this figure are described by Webb (2006: 69-70) and of great relevance as to the importance and placement of such effigies in situ: "During Rautenfeld's 1925 trip, Benjamin Butcher, the London Missionary Society preacher stationed at Aird Hills, told him about a figure called IRIWÁKE, and Rautenfeld's diary relates the circumstances of their journey to see and photograph the sculpture on May 19, 1925 (1925: 78-779): 'I proceeded at once to Maiaki in order to avail myself of the high tide. Mr. Butcher had informed me of the war-god Iriwake there whom I wanted to photograph [...] reaching Maiaki in half an hour, at noon, just when the tide was turning. The village is divided into two separate parts by a small bridged creek which falls from the right into the one we came down [...]. I landed on the left at the Vaimuru section - not to be [confused] with the Purari village of Vaimuru, where a typical dubu daima [long-house] attracted my attention. Inside the front entrance, on the right, there was IRIWÁKE, one of the rare specimens of its kind still remaining in the Urama Disctrict. The famous god of war is a flat effigy about five feet high, in black, red and white with boar's tusks encircling the tip of his nose and a grass skirt surrounding his loins. Fibre tassels are attached to his ears and a mairi [neck-shell] painted in white across his chest and white horse-shoe-like figures on his belly are much in evidence. His head, up-lifted arms and hands are also marked with broad white lines. Instead of the legs there is a long pole which is struck through the floor into the mud underneath the building. Though it was very dark in the men's house, I succeeded in taking a portrait of IRIWÁKE by means of a five minutes' exposure.'"

Smidt (loc. cit.: 325-326) continues: "Although the theme of upraised arms occurs often enough in the art of woodcarving of the central section of the Gulf of Papua (above all in the bioma figures), the impressive arms of this piece [= the offered lot] are so exceptional that at first sight they can be compared to just one published example. And that example is in a private collection too. The dimensions of the arms are virtually identical, but include more details, such as wrist-joints, and fingers rendered with painted stripes. Moreover, the trunk is lozenge-shaped and at the lower extremity, probably pole-shaped at one time, the figure has a belt of bark and a 'skirt' of fibers. [...] It is possible that the serrated motif on the arms [of the offered lot] refers to [...] lightning flashes. It is also present on the [other figure], but less emphatically, being flanked by what is evidently a rendition of arm bones. Carved on the breast, as in the [other figure], is the representation of a neck or breast pendant of mother-of-pearl (miri). In its form and luster, this ornament refers to the moon, and thus makes a suitable decoration for a heavenly deity. Besides the practical function, the pole-like lower extremity without legs may well refer to a myth, which relates how IRIWÁKE was divided into two, upon which the two halves were distributed between the people of the Era and those of the Kerewa region (west of Urama Island), after these had fought to possess him."

THE PROVENANCE OF THE OFFERED LOT

The offered figure was collected in situ by Thomas Schultze-Westrum, a German biologist and filmmaker who travelled to Papua New Guinea in the 1960s. Smidt (loc. cit.: 325) remember the circumstance: "This unique woodcarving, that with its monumental, raised arms makes a deep impression on the viewer [...] was collected in 1966 by a member of a German scientific expedition. At a time when traditional culture had largely disintegrated, and there were no longer any traditional men's houses, the last remaining, once sacred woodcarvings led a languishing existence. According to Schultze-Westrum much had been destroyed by 1966: 'Woodcarvings were burnt, destroyed, buried, hidden in the bush, or stacked in small huts with leaking roofs where they either rotted away, or were slowly devoured by termites and rodents' (Schultze-Westrum 1968: 296-297). This figure [= the offered lot], which must have been of great significance for the local population, was preserved, albeit not in ideal circumstances, until the date of collection; in the past the left arm, on breaking off, had been carefully reattached to the body using the traditional method of repair (with cane)."

Of particular interest are the horizontal nose-stick and the circular breast pendant which were both found together with the figure. Both objects are made of the shell of tridacna gigas, the giant clam, an extremely prestigious material in Papua New Guinea since it is so hard to obtain. The nose-stick is inscribed in pencil by Schultze-Westrum's hand with the numbers '10[or: 19].2.1966, confirming the date of the figures collecting as February 10/19, 1966.

CONCLUSION

The van Bussel Figure of IRIWÁKE , the god of thunder and head hunt, is a visually striking masterpiece from the lost world of pre-contact Papua New Guinea. It is one of the major cultural remnants from the Papuan Gulf, one of the central images of an entire culture, and one of the major works of art from Papua New Guinea in the world. It is one of two such figures that potentially could ever come to market.