A magnificent and extremely rare early Rurutu chief's stool, Austral Islands, French Polynesia

no'oanga, carved from a single piece of wood, the four hemispherical feet leading to the sleek legs each accentuated by a fine medial ridge and supporting the deeply curved seat with gently arched sides; exceptionally fine and softly worn reddish brown patina.

George Ortiz, Geneva
Sotheby's, London, June 29, 1978, lot 200
Acquired at the above auction

George Ortiz, '15 chefs-d'oeuvres de l'art des mers du sud', Connaissance des Arts, Paris, no. 283, 1978, p. 94
Vasco & Co. (eds.), Anonymous Collectors, Brussels, 2007, unpaginated, 1978, fol. 3 verso

Good condition overall; one corner broken and restored; nicks and scratches, wear and tear from traditional use.
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.

Carved from one solid block of wood with stone, bone and shell tools, stools like the present example were reserved for those of high status.

In his 1978 article '15 chefs-d'oeuvres de l'art des mers du sud' for Connaissance des Arts, George Ortiz, the great connoisseur of art from the ancient worlds, as well as African and Oceanic art, discussed 15 objects from his collection which he believed to be his greatest masterpieces. "Polynesian art," he (Ortiz 1978: 90) explains, "is for the Westerner like an escape, a quest for beauty and truth, the revival. [...] Only few specimens [...] have survived; rare testimonies of people I admire, I regret, and I love. For those who would like to see a relationship between the so-called 'primitive' art and Modern art, one could say that African art is to be seen as cubist or expressionist. The radical simplicity of Polynesian art, however, recalls the formes of Brancusi." For Ortiz (1978: 95), his Rurutu chief's stool represents one of the great masterpieces of Oceanic art, being "the most accomplished and most elegant of Pacific stools, both by its curved outlines and its volume."

Cf. Hooper (2006: 211, cat. 178) for a closely related stool collected in 1822 on Rurutu by George Bennet of the London Missionary Society and inscribed 'Geo Bennet Oct 6 1822 Rurutu made'. Although the inscription on the Rosenthal stool is less well preserved than on the Bennet stool, the characteristics of both handwritings suggest a common author. If this is indeed the case, the Rosenthal stool would have been collected on the same voyage in 1822. A third stool of the same genre was sold at Christie's, London, December 8, 1992, lot 109.