Lot 74
  • 74

Très rare tête de proue, Maori, Nouvelle-Zélande

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 EUR
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Description

  • Maori
  • Très rare tête de proue
  • haut. 28 cm
  • 11 in

Provenance

Phillips, Londres, 27 novembre 1998, no 163
Collection privée

Condition

Please refer to the department - + 33 1 53 05 53 39, kristen.lefevre@sothebys.com
"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

Dans le corpus des proues (tau-ihu) de pirogues Maori, Hamilton (1896 : 12) distingue un type "très rare, provenant presqu'exclusivement des districts septentrionaux, en particulier d'Auckland et de Waikato". Composée de quatre parties - au lieu d'une sculpture monoxyle - elle présente, à l'avant de la base trapézoïdale, "une tête rapportée de style réaliste, entièrement ornée de tatouages, dépourvue de l'habituelle langue tirée" (idem). Le Museum für Völkerkunde de Berlin expose, dans la salle dédiée aux bateaux, une pirogue offrant une proue analogue.  

Selon David R. Simmons à propos de cette tête (communication personnelle), elle représenterait - avec sa bouche ouverte (tapu) - Hema, héros légendaire de la mythologie Maori, père de Tawhaki. Toujours selon Simmons, cette tête "très rare, datant de la fin du XVIIIe siècle ou du tout début du XIXe siècle, et dont on ne connaît que quelques exemples comparables, devait orner la pirogue de guerre d'un chef éminent, probablement celle de Waikato Whareherehere, qui signa le traité de Waitangi" (idem). Signé le 6 février 1840 à Waitangi entre les représentants de la Couronne Britannique et les chefs de la Confédération des Tribus unies de Nouvelle-Zélande, ce traité fit formellement de la Nouvelle-Zélande une colonie britannique, et plus généralement peut être considéré comme l'acte de fondation de la Nouvelle-Zélande en tant que nation. 

A la rareté de l'œuvre et à son importance dans l'histoire Maori répond l'exceptionnel traitement du visage entièrement envahi de tatouages curvilignes - asymétriques sur le front - mis en valeur par la profonde patine brune laissant apparaître, de face comme au dos sur le tenon, la veinure serrée du bois dur.  

cf. Simmons (1982 : 275, pl. 195b) pour une tête de pirogue de guerre comparable dans la collection de l'American Museum of Natural History (New York, inv. n° 74.124) et idem (pl. 12) pour une tête stylistiquement très apparentée, conservée au Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, provenant de l'ancienne collection Beasley. cf. Te Riria et Simmons (1989 : 15) pour une autre tête de pirogue de guerre conservée au Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Very rare Maori canoe prow head, New Zealand

Within the corpus of  Maori canoe prow heads (tau-ihu), Hamilton (1896 :12) distinguishes a type which is "very rare, originating almost exclusively from the nothern districts, particularly from Auckland and Waikato". Composed of four parts – as opposed to a single dugout sculpture – it has, at the front of the trapezoidal base, "a head in a realist style, entirely adorned with tattoos, devoid of the usual protruding tongue" (ibid). The Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin exhibits a canoe with a very similar prow in its room devoted to boats.

According to David R. Simmons (personal communication), the offered head, with its open mouth (tapu), would have represented Hema, the legendary hero of Maori mythology, and the father of Tawhaki. According to Simmons, this head is very rare, and dates to the end of the eighteenth century or the very beginning of the nineteenth century. We know of only a few comparable examples. It would have adorned the war canoe of a prominent leader, probably Waikato Whareherehere, who signed the treaty of Waitangi (ibid). Signed on the 6th of February 1840, in Waitangi, between representatives of the British Crown and the chiefs of the Confederation of United Tribes of New Zealand, the treaty formally made New Zealand a British colony, and can generally be regarded as the act which founded New Zealand as a nation.

The rarity of the work and its importance in the history of the Maori is equalled by the exceptional treatement of the facial tattoos, which completely cover the face in curvilinear patterns (asymmetrical on the forehead). The tattoos are highlighted by the deep brown patina, which reveals the tight grain of the hardwood.

cf. Simmons (1982 : 275, pl. 195b) for a comparable head from a war canoe in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History (New York, inv. No 74.124) and ibid. (pl 12) for a stylistically related head in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,  formely in the renowned Beasley collection. cf. Te Riria and Simmons (1989 : 15) for a head from a war canoe, now in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.