- 14
Statue, Maori, Nouvelle-Zélande
Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 EUR
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Description
- Maori
- Statue
- wood, haliotis
- haut. 51,5 cm
- 20 1/4 in
Provenance
Collecté à Te Ngae (région de Rotorua, île septentrionale), en 1876
Merton Simpson, New York, ca. 1965
Collection George et Rosemary Lois, New York
Christie's, Paris, 16 juin 2009, n°236 et couverture
Merton Simpson, New York, ca. 1965
Collection George et Rosemary Lois, New York
Christie's, Paris, 16 juin 2009, n°236 et couverture
Condition
please contact department for condition report
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
« Tangaroa était le dieu sacré de la mer en pays Maori. […] Afin de punir Ruatepupuke, ancêtre dont le nom est associé à l’origine de la sculpture sur bois, il captura son fils Manurihi, l’emmena dans sa demeure au fond de l’océan et substitua sa forme humaine et sa personnalité à celles d’un oiseau. Il le suspendit ensuite au sommet de sa maison sculptée en guise de tekoteko » (Mead, 1984, p. 65).
Ce célèbre mythe Maori relate l’histoire de l’origine de la sculpture sur bois (wakairo), dont la maison et sa statue faîtière tekoteko constituent le fondement. Depuis des siècles, la "maison sculptée" (tout comme la demeure des chefs et le grenier à nourriture) fait l’objet d’un décor des plus élaborés. Le fronton, en particulier, symbolise le corps de l’ancêtre fondateur : figurant le héros légendaire de la tribu, la poutre faitière en est la colonne vertébrale, les chevrons ses côtes, et la sculpture de faîtage, la tête.
L’autorité du héros fondateur s’exprime ici par la saisissante confrontation entre le corps naturaliste – dont la pose et chaque volume, résumés à l’essentiel, exaltent la puissance –, et la force du visage wheku hautement stylisé, aux yeux sertis d’un disque de coquillage haliotis. Selon Sidney M. Mead (1975, p. 178-179), si les sculptures humaines de l’art Maori, appelées tiki, représentent généralement des ancêtres plutôt que des dieux, dans un contexte où, comme leurs enfants, ils peuvent être considérés comme ancêtres fondateurs, le degré de stylisation choisi par le sculpteur dépendra de sa volonté à mettre en valeur le rôle social du héros, ou plutôt, comme ici, sa dimension spirituelle.
Collectée à ‘Te Gnae’ [Te Ngae], Rotorua, en février 1876, d'après l’inscription portée à l’encre sur le front, cette rare et très belle statue de faîtage tekoteko est comparable à celle collectée un an plus tard par A. E. Bothamley dans la même région de Rotorua, aux abords du lac Rotoiti, et conservée au British Museum ("Gable Figure tekoteko", inv. n° NZ146 cf. Maori, 2010, p. 35 et pl. 26, n°106). Si la région de Rotorua est peuplée de tribus Arawa, le style de ces deux œuvres évoque celui développé un peu plus à l’Est par les Te Whanau-a-Apunui (cf. Moko Mead, idem, p. 205). Elles illustrent ainsi remarquablement les relations entre les régions voisines d’East Cape et de la Bay of Plenty, dont, au XVIIIe siècle, « les styles artistiques étaient étroitement liés » (Moko Mead, idem, p. 103).
Maori figure, New Zealand
"Tangaroa was the sacred god of the sea in Maori country. [...] In order to punish Ruatepupuke - an ancestor whose name is associated with the origins of woodcarving - he captured his son Manurihi, took him to his home at the bottom of the ocean and substituted his human form and personality for those of a bird. He then hung him atop his carved house as a tekoteko" (Mead, 1984, p. 65).
This famous Maori myth tells the story of the origin of woodcarving (wakairo), with the house and its tekoteko roof sculpture as key elements. For centuries, the "carved house" (like the leaders' dwellings and the storehouses) has been adorned with the most elaborate decoration. The gable, in particular, symbolizes the body of the founding ancestor: the roof beam embodies the legendary hero of the tribe and provides the backbone, the rafters represent the ribs, and the gable sculpture, the head.
The authority of the founding hero is expressed here in the striking comparison between the naturalistic body - the pose and volume of which are streamlined in the extreme and exalt the figure's powerful presence - and the forcefulness of the highly stylised wheku face, its eyes inlaid with a disk of haliotis shell. According to Sidney M. Mead (1975, p. 178-179) although, in Maori art, human figures - referred to as Tiki - generally represent ancestors rather than gods, in a context where, like their children, they may be regarded as founding ancestors, the degree of stylization chosen by the sculptor depends on his desire to emphasise the social role of the hero, or, as is the case in this piece, his spiritual dimension.
According to the inscription made in ink on its forehead, this rare and beautiful tekoteko gable sculpture, collected in ‘Te Gnae’ [Te Ngae], Rotorua, in February 1876, is very similar to that collected a year later by A. E. Bothamley, also in the Rotorua region, near Lake Rotoiti, and now kept in the British Museum ("Gable Figure tekoteko", inv. No. NZ146 cf. Maori, 2010, p. 35 and pl. 26, No. 106). Although the Rotorua region is inhabited by Arawa tribes, the style of these two pieces recalls that developed a little further east by the Te Whanau-a-Apunui (cf. Moko Mead, ibid, p. 205). In this regard, they are remarkable illustrations of the relations between the neighbouring regions of East Cape and the Bay of Plenty, whose "artistic styles were closely related" in the 19th century. (Moko Mead, ibid, p. 103).
Ce célèbre mythe Maori relate l’histoire de l’origine de la sculpture sur bois (wakairo), dont la maison et sa statue faîtière tekoteko constituent le fondement. Depuis des siècles, la "maison sculptée" (tout comme la demeure des chefs et le grenier à nourriture) fait l’objet d’un décor des plus élaborés. Le fronton, en particulier, symbolise le corps de l’ancêtre fondateur : figurant le héros légendaire de la tribu, la poutre faitière en est la colonne vertébrale, les chevrons ses côtes, et la sculpture de faîtage, la tête.
L’autorité du héros fondateur s’exprime ici par la saisissante confrontation entre le corps naturaliste – dont la pose et chaque volume, résumés à l’essentiel, exaltent la puissance –, et la force du visage wheku hautement stylisé, aux yeux sertis d’un disque de coquillage haliotis. Selon Sidney M. Mead (1975, p. 178-179), si les sculptures humaines de l’art Maori, appelées tiki, représentent généralement des ancêtres plutôt que des dieux, dans un contexte où, comme leurs enfants, ils peuvent être considérés comme ancêtres fondateurs, le degré de stylisation choisi par le sculpteur dépendra de sa volonté à mettre en valeur le rôle social du héros, ou plutôt, comme ici, sa dimension spirituelle.
Collectée à ‘Te Gnae’ [Te Ngae], Rotorua, en février 1876, d'après l’inscription portée à l’encre sur le front, cette rare et très belle statue de faîtage tekoteko est comparable à celle collectée un an plus tard par A. E. Bothamley dans la même région de Rotorua, aux abords du lac Rotoiti, et conservée au British Museum ("Gable Figure tekoteko", inv. n° NZ146 cf. Maori, 2010, p. 35 et pl. 26, n°106). Si la région de Rotorua est peuplée de tribus Arawa, le style de ces deux œuvres évoque celui développé un peu plus à l’Est par les Te Whanau-a-Apunui (cf. Moko Mead, idem, p. 205). Elles illustrent ainsi remarquablement les relations entre les régions voisines d’East Cape et de la Bay of Plenty, dont, au XVIIIe siècle, « les styles artistiques étaient étroitement liés » (Moko Mead, idem, p. 103).
Maori figure, New Zealand
"Tangaroa was the sacred god of the sea in Maori country. [...] In order to punish Ruatepupuke - an ancestor whose name is associated with the origins of woodcarving - he captured his son Manurihi, took him to his home at the bottom of the ocean and substituted his human form and personality for those of a bird. He then hung him atop his carved house as a tekoteko" (Mead, 1984, p. 65).
This famous Maori myth tells the story of the origin of woodcarving (wakairo), with the house and its tekoteko roof sculpture as key elements. For centuries, the "carved house" (like the leaders' dwellings and the storehouses) has been adorned with the most elaborate decoration. The gable, in particular, symbolizes the body of the founding ancestor: the roof beam embodies the legendary hero of the tribe and provides the backbone, the rafters represent the ribs, and the gable sculpture, the head.
The authority of the founding hero is expressed here in the striking comparison between the naturalistic body - the pose and volume of which are streamlined in the extreme and exalt the figure's powerful presence - and the forcefulness of the highly stylised wheku face, its eyes inlaid with a disk of haliotis shell. According to Sidney M. Mead (1975, p. 178-179) although, in Maori art, human figures - referred to as Tiki - generally represent ancestors rather than gods, in a context where, like their children, they may be regarded as founding ancestors, the degree of stylization chosen by the sculptor depends on his desire to emphasise the social role of the hero, or, as is the case in this piece, his spiritual dimension.
According to the inscription made in ink on its forehead, this rare and beautiful tekoteko gable sculpture, collected in ‘Te Gnae’ [Te Ngae], Rotorua, in February 1876, is very similar to that collected a year later by A. E. Bothamley, also in the Rotorua region, near Lake Rotoiti, and now kept in the British Museum ("Gable Figure tekoteko", inv. No. NZ146 cf. Maori, 2010, p. 35 and pl. 26, No. 106). Although the Rotorua region is inhabited by Arawa tribes, the style of these two pieces recalls that developed a little further east by the Te Whanau-a-Apunui (cf. Moko Mead, ibid, p. 205). In this regard, they are remarkable illustrations of the relations between the neighbouring regions of East Cape and the Bay of Plenty, whose "artistic styles were closely related" in the 19th century. (Moko Mead, ibid, p. 103).