STATUE, AIRE KORWAR, PROVINCE PAPUA, INDONÉSIE |

Statue, Aire Korwar, Province Papua, Indonésie

Acquis in situ par la Société Missionaire d'Utrecht, probablement avant 1907
Collection Eddy A. Hof (1914-2001), Pays-Bas
Pascassio Manfredi, Paris
Collection privée, États-Unis, acquis en 2012

Good condition overall. Some thin open cracks at the back of the head and to the proper left side of the headdress. Top of the headdress is broken but well patinated. Hole under the base. Wear consistent with age and use within the culture. The glass beads of the eyes are preserved.
"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."

Réceptacles de l’âme des défunts servant d’intermédiaires entre les vivants et les morts -  les figures anthropomorphes korwar à deux personnages sont particulièrement rares. Collectée dans la baie de Geelvink (Teluk Cenderawasih) par la Société Missionnaire d’Utrecht - probablement avant 1907, date de l’autodafé d’une grande partie des œuvres de cette région - cette figure fait partie des premières figures Korwar arrivées en Europe, tout comme l’ensemble conservé au Wereldmuseum de Rotterdam. A l’ancienneté de l’œuvre et la rareté de l’iconographie s’ajoutent ici la finesse de la sculpture, ainsi que la dynamique des deux personnages, s’inscrivant avec force dans l’espace et témoignant ainsi d’ « une convention plus stricte des formes, d’un certain ascétisme et parfois d’une froide et exaltante lucidité caractérisant l’art de Geelvink Bay» (Viot, « Beauté du Monde – La Baie de Geelvink », L’Art Vivant, avril 1931, p. 173).

As vessels for the souls of the deceased, acting as intermediaries between the living and the dead, anthropomorphic korwars are emblematic of Polynesian art. Within this corpus, statues comprising two figures are particularly rare. Collected in Geelvink bay (Teluk Cenderawasih) by the Utrecht Missionary Society probably before 1907, the year where a large part of the art of the region was destroyed- this figure, along with the group kept at the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam, is amongst the first to have arrived in Europe.

The antiquity of the piece and the distinctiveness of its iconography are compounded here by the subtlety of the carving and the dynamic between the two figures.  A powerful presence, it also adheres to “a stricter formal convention, a certain asceticism and, at times, a cold and exalting lucidity that is typical of Geelvink Bay art” (Viot, « Beauté du Monde – La Baie de Geelvink », L’Art Vivant, April 1931, p. 173).