Provenance

SOTHEBY'S  Lot 122.

Stan Moriarty, Sydney

Private Collection, Queensland

By descent

Private Collection,...

Admiralty Islands Large Ancient Obsidian Bladed Knife. Still retains original Paranarium Nut resin handle with good ochre, charcoal & lime infill decoration.

Without doubt the earliest most elegant...

Exceedingly early rare beautiful examples of a female & male portrait figures.

Largely intact however may show signs of ritual loss to lower limbs.

Male Figure    18cm

Female Figure  15cm

Full Provenanc...

Asmat canoe prow decoration depicting superb sculptural form of two men restraining a cassowary.

Very three dimensional dynamic traditional carving.

Indonesia, West Papua Province (West Irian Jaya), Er...

Superb fresh to the market large powerful beautiful unseen example in magnificent condition by the Papua New Guinea Master carver Mutuaga . Very heavy hard New Guinea ebony & lime infill Mutuaga sign...

Books

FE Williams Rare fine condition x 3  Essential Reference Material Culture Melanesia

 

Papuans of the Trans-Fly

Williams, F E

Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1936. First edition. Hard Cover. Book Condition:...

Realist stylized portrait face of Torres Strait or Gogodala origin. Has same features as the purported Torres Comb (see photos) & the remarkable noble nose profile of the Fly River Torres region peop...

Uniquely this superb mask displays three portrait faces with elaborate decoration. The main...

A superb large important example of an old traditional tatanua mask of overall helmet-shaped form.  Long openwork mask with jutting, parted lips, broad nose and eyes inserted with snail opercula (tur...

These arrows are exclusively for man killing on head hunting and revenge raids.  These traditional exam...

Multi pronged bound hardwood tips. 

Some red ochre decoration for sympathetic hunting magic, plain undecorated utilitarian flight shafts. 

All arrows full length uncut in perfect condition as collected ...

Traditional blood and lime binding to barbs and flight shafts.

Warfare man killing arrows. 

All arrows traditional full length (average 150cm - 60 ...

Highly decorated hardwood tip shafts with some bone barbs all full length examples circa WWII.

Matching black palm and/or bamboo trans-fly...

All arrows are full length - average 150cm (60 inches). 

Used for both battle and hunting.  Traditional blood and ash bindings. 

Collected...

Some decorated with sympathetic magic iconography.  All arrow...

Traditional old battle bone tips on highly decorated and carved tang shafts.  Flight shafts on some also paint decorated with war magic iconography. 

All arrows uncut full traditional length (average ...

The two Trobriand model canoe washbo...

A selection of fine examples of type from regions and Districts of Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya (West Papua Dutch New Guinea), New Britain, Solomon Islands.

1.US$150    2.US$150    3.US$150   4.SOLD   ...

Drum (kundu), Papua New Guinea, late 19th century. Very early example. Field Collected by Dr. Isadore Brodsky (1905– 1975), the clinical collector par excellence, around 1920s.  Wooden hourglass d...

A woven fibre cuirass body armor corselet (vest) from the high Star Mountains area of Papua New Guinea. Intricately woven from natural plant fibres. An extremely rare and very old example that dates ...

New Hanover, St. Matthias Group Islands War Spear.

Rare, decorated & barbed, beautiful undamaged complete example of type collected pre 1900.

Length 270cm (106 inches) 

SOLD

See Meyer  Oceanic Art p 341...

US$1,500 For set of three



Obsidian is a naturally occurring glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock f...

Matty Island Wuvulu Manus Province.

Unique traditional food dish with the best features of rocking round bottom and razor thin edges in superb state of preservation. Deep rich, glowing age patina a...

SOLD

SOLD

C WW11. Length 45cm ( 17.5 inches).

SOLD