PLANCHE VOTIVE GOPE, WAPO, GOLFE DE PAPOUASIE, PAPOUASIE-NOUVELLE-GUINÉE |

Planche votive Gope, Wapo, Golfe de Papouasie, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée

Collection Thomas Schultze-Westrum, acquis in situ en 1966
Collection John et Marcia Friede, New York
Collection Tomkins, New York (inv. n° TC 487)

Webb, Embodied Spirits. Gope Boards from the Papuan Gulf / Esprits incarnés. Planches votives du golfe de Papouasie, 2015, p. 216-217, n° 78

Very good condition overall. Wear, in particular to the top and bottom edges, is consistent with age and use within the culture. Some minor losses as visible in the catalogue illustration, particularly to the proper right side of the board. Carving is very well preserved with thick layered polychrome in red, black and white pigment. Some insect holes. Attached to a modern suspension metal clip at the rear.
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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."

À la fin des années 1960, le biologiste allemand Thomas Schultze-Westrum emprunta l'itinéraire des premières expéditions dans le golfe de Papouasie - celles de l'explorateur australien Frank Hurley (milieu des années 1920), puis du journaliste américain John W. Vandercook (1936). Il y collecta de très nombreuses œuvres, dont plusieurs - y compris cette planche gope - formèrent par la suite le cœur de l'ensemble consacré à cette région dans la collection Jolika de John et Marcia Friede, aujourd'hui en grande partie conservée au Young Museum de San Francisco. Photographiée en 1966 chez les Wapo par Thomas Schultze-Westrum, cette planche votive s'impose comme l'un des témoins les plus magistraux de l'inventivité des artistes du golfe de Papouasie, dans l'interprétation matérielle et immatérielle de leurs croyances. Par l'ampleur du cadre, la dynamique des motifs et le génie dans l'interprétation centrale de la figure humaine, cette planche gope produit un impact visuel saisissant. « Sur la plupart des planches votives sculptées avant 1960, les artistes ne visaient pas le réalisme. Leur but était de transmettre des éléments stylisés spécifiques, utilisés jusque-là par leur clan pour représenter les esprits qui leur étaient associés » (Webb, Embodied Spirits. Gope Boards from the Papuan Gulf / Esprits incarnés. Planches votives du golfe de Papouasie, 2015, p. 48). La représentation de l'être-esprit, résumé aux traits du visage et à un corps figuré par un motif stylisé et simplifié, est transcendée par la superbe polychromie composée d'aplats ocres et blancs. À cette inventivité figurative répond la très grande ancienneté de cette création, dont les plus sûrs témoins sont l’épaisseur de la planche, sculptée à l’outil de pierre, ainsi que la belle patine d’usage qui la recouvre.

In the late 1960s, German biologist Thomas Schultze-Westrum followed the route of the first expeditions into the Gulf of Papua led by Australian explorer Frank Hurley (mid-1920s) and then by American journalist John W. Vandercook (1936). Whilst there Schultze-Westrum collected works of exceptional quality, many of which, including this gope board, later formed the core of the art from this region in the Jolika collection by John and Marcia Friede, now largely housed at de Young Museum in San Francisco. Photographed in 1966 by Thomas Schultze-Westrum within the Wapo community, this votive board represents the epitome of invention by the artists of the Gulf of Papua, in the material and immaterial interpretation of their beliefs.

The sheer scale of its frame, the dynamism of its patterns, and the exquisite skill apparent in its interpretation of the human figure, produces a striking visual impact. "On most of the votive boards sculpted before 1960, the artists did not aim for realism. Their goal was to convey specific stylized elements previously used by their clan to represent the spirits associated with them.” (Webb, Embodied Spirits. Gope Boards from the Papuan Gulf / Esprits incarnés. Planches votives du golfe de Papouasie, 2015, p. 48) The representation of the spirit-being, pared down to the features of the face and a body figured in a stylized and simplified motif, is transcended by the superb polychromatic arrangement of ochre and white. The figurative innovation is compounded by the great antiquity of creation, the hallmarks of which are the thickness of the wood, carved with a stone tool and its beautiful patina of use.