Planche votive, Rivière Kikori, Golfe de Papouasie, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée

Collectée par Thomas Shulze-Westrum en 1966
Collection Marcia et John Friede, New York

Good condition overall. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture: cracks and losses to the edges,as visible in the catalogue illustration; a few losses to the relief motifs; a few losses to the surface of the rear; old and worn polychrome decoration, as visible in the catalogue illustration.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Le biologiste allemand Thomas Schultze-Westrum (qui publia en 1972 Neu-Guinea : Papua – Urwelt im Aufbruch) se rendit à plusieurs reprises dans le Golfe de Papouasie lors de ses missions de recherches. Il y revint à la fin des années 1960 et collecta un très grand nombre d'œuvres, dont les plus significatives entrèrent dans la Jolika Collection de John et Marcia Friede. Il écuma en particulier les villages des groupes Era et Urama, et le bassin de la rivière Kikori, sur les pas de l'explorateur australien Frank Hurley puis du journaliste américain John W. Vandercook. Tandis que trente ans auparavant, les villageois refusaient de se séparer de leurs objets de culte, l'abandon des rituels et des performances masquées permirent au biologiste d'acquérir plusieurs œuvres photographiées en 1936 par Vandercook (Welsch in Welsch, Webb et Harara, 2006 : 91 et Friede, 2005 II : 20-21).

Collectée en 1966, cette planche votive constitue un rare témoin de l'art ancien du bassin de la rivière Kikori. A l'instar de la planche votive gope de la Jolika Collection (Sotheby's, New York, mai 2010, n° 88), le visage se caractérise par sa forme cintrée, définie par le mouvement souple des lignes contournant aux plus près les traits expressifs – yeux ronds et bouche aux commissures relevées. La remarquable dynamique du décor linéaire, jouant sur la dramatisation des traits rehaussés de pigments rouges et noirs, est accentuée par le mouvement incurvé du support en écorce - très rare. Comme les autres planches gope du Golfe de Papouasie, « elle était conservée dans l'alcôve du clan, dans la maison longue, et représentait l'ancêtre spécifique du clan » (Kaufmann in Peltier et Morin, 2006 : 424).  

Votive board, Kerewa group, Papuan Gulf, Papua New Guinea

The German biologist Thomas Schultze-Westrum (who in 1972 published Neu-Guinea: Papua - Urwelt im Aufbruch) went to the Papuan Gulf several times during his field-trips. He returned to the Papuan Gulf in the late 1960s and collected a great number of works, the most significant of which entered the Jolika Collection of John and Marcia Friede. He scoured the village of the Urama and Era groups in particular, as well as the Kikori River Basin, following in the footsteps of the Australian explorer Frank Hurley and the American journalist John W. Vandercook. While thirty years previously the villagers had refused to part with their objects of worship, the abandonment of rituals and masked performances enabled the biologist to acquire several of the works which had been photographed in 1936 by Vandercook (Welsch in Welsch, Webb and Harare, 2006 : 91 and Friede, 2005 II: 20-21).

Collected in 1966, this votive board is a rare witness to the ancient art of Kikori River Basin. Like the gope votive board from the Jolika Collection (Sotheby's, New York, May 2010, No. 88) the face is characterized by its curved shape, defined by the movement of soft lines skirting close to the expressive features, of which the round eyes and mouth can be identified. The remarkable dynamism of the linear decoration is enhanced by the unusual curved form of the bark support and the dramatic character of the features, which are picked out in red and black pigments. Like other gope boards from the Papuan Gulf, this board 'was kept in the clan's alcove in the longhouse, and represented the specific ancestor of the clan" (Kaufmann in Peltier and Morin, 2006: 424).