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At this year's renowned Frieze Masters art fair in London, Entwistle presented a number of small treasures, among them this remarkable pigment pot, or ipu ngärahu, from the Maori peoples of New Zealand.

The superb stone-cut vessel is a work of great sculptural inventiveness as two contorted tiki figures wrap around the quasi-spherical form of the pot, the limbs and faces of the figures in relief and decorated with numerous curvilinear motifs.

Of extraordinary rarity, the pot is one of only six published examples of the rare wooden vessels: four of the others are in institutional collections - two from the William Oldman collection and two from the Kenneth Webster collection are in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, while the fifth example, formerly in the collections of Harry Beasley and J.J. Klejman, is in a private collection.

The present example was once in the collection of the renowned English collector and dealer James Hooper and was published in the catalogue of his collection, Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas: The James Hooper Collection, written by Steven Phelps in 1976.

The ipu ngärahu held the specialist inks created as part of ta moko (customary Maori tattooing) practice. Also called oko ngärahu, carved ipu wai ngärahu pots were part of the ahi ta moko tattooing rite, which was exceedingly sacred, or tapu. The awheto (vegetable caterpillar) was burned in a fire known as an ahi kauri (tattooing fire), then the awe (soot) was mixed with spring water, fish oil, or resin from hinau tree (Elaeocarpus dentatus), mahoe (whitey wood: Melicytus ramiflorus), poroporo (black nightshade: Solanum nigrum), and other plants, then kneaded and formed into small balls called kauri.

The ngärahu (pigment) obtained from the caterpillar was used for tattooing the limbs or body, but the pigment was not black enough to be used for facial tattooing. Pukepoto (dark blue earth), a fine dark blue uku (clay), was mixed with resins to form a blue pigment and this was applied to the face of the moko (tattoo) recipient.

Every moko was individualised to suit the genealogy and character of the person receiving it. More than anything else, ta moko identified people like a signature. Their moko was their identity etched into their skin and they were proud to wear it. Many chiefs signed treaties and land grants by drawing their moko instead of just signing an 'X'. From the 1840s onwards, carvers and ta moko experts began adapting their methods and experimenting with metal tools because they proved superior or easier to work with than customary tools made from wood, ivory, and bone.

C.E.

As for the past seven years, Entwistle will be exhibiting remarkable historical works of art from Africa, Oceania and the Americas.

In addition, Entwistle will showcase works from some of the celebrated masters of post-war Japanese art.

By virtue of the quality and rarity of the artworks on view and the international diversity of its participants, this renowned annual fair is considered the most important fair of its kind in the world. The fair runs from Tuesday 10th to Sunday 15th September, 2019. We look forward to welcoming you to our gallery.

This year, we will be showcasing masterpieces from various African and Oceanic cultural groups, such as the superb  mask (n’gré or gié) from the Bete-Guere-Wobe complex of the Ivory Coast [above].

Comme chaque année depuis 2004, la galerie Entwistle est fière d’annoncer sa participation au Parcours des Mondes, le prestigieux salon parisien dédié aux arts d’Afrique, d’Océanie, des Amériques et d’Asie.

De par la qualité, la rareté des pièces exposées et la diversité de ses participants venus du monde entier, cet événement annuel de renommée internationale apparaît comme le plus important salon au monde dans ce domaine. C’est donc avec grand plaisir que nous vous accueillerons à la galerie pour cette nouvelle édition, du mardi 10 au dimanche 15 septembre 2019.

Cette année, nous présenterons des chefs-d'œuvre de divers groupes culturels africains et océaniens, parmi lesquels une superbe masque (n’gré or gié) Bete-Guere-Wobe de Côte d'Ivoire [ci-dessus].

One of the highlights from our recent exhibition 'Pacific Treasures' was a delicate lime spatula attributed to the renowned Massim master sculptor known by the name of Mutuaga, also known as the 'Master of the Naturalistic Style.' He came from the Maliboi clan and lived in Dagodagoisu village, on the mainland opposite Suau Island, in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea, and was active from about 1880 to 1920.

The spatula was once in the collection of the celebrated collector and scholar, George Terasaki, and will be published in Dr Harry Beran's forthcoming sequel to Mutuaga: A Nineteenth-Century New Guinea Master Carver entitled More Mutagas, further woodcarvings by the 19th Century master carver of the Massim region, Papua New Guinea.

The superb independent figure that forms the handle of the spatula exhibits a squatting figure – an iconic theme in his best-known works, with comparable examples in the collections of the British Museum, London, Ex. Collection Henry Beasley (2065), [Oc1944,02.1900]; the Buffalo Museum of Science [C8335]; the Museum of New Zealand [FE6960]; the Marischal Museum, University of Aberdeen [ABDUA:180] and the John and Marcia Friede Collection, San Francisco.

The figure exhibits the same sculptural variations that have been identified by Dr. Harry Beran, the foremost specialist in the field of Massim Art, as belonging to Mutuaga’s ‘Naturalistic sub-style – Style Variation 3,[1] where face is rounded, and the eyes are carved as incisions in the shape of scrolls.

The animated character of the squatting figure is highlighted by the incised scrolling, filled with lime, found on the zygomatic areas as ornamental bands that descend down the maxillofacial planes to the temporal areas. They are echoed at the forehead as an arched flange that sits above thick eyebrows. The naturalistically stylized ears are carved, in high relief, and below them is exhibited a further band of ornamental scrolling that descends at a slant to the maxillary area.

The ocular features flank a majestic aquiline nose below which there is a prominent philtrum. The mouth is carved as two concentric indented ovals that highlight the thick lips. Below this feature is found a finely carved serrated line, denoting facial hair, which curls into whiskers at the cheeks and emphasizes the virility and seniority of the figure. The head is simplified in shape to a semi-sphere.

The magnificent and varied patterning is further carried from the temporal regions around to the back of the skull, which it circles, and is echoed further in two bands that curve downwards from the crown to follow the line of the ears. Observed from the back, the spatula reveals further scrolling on the occipital region of the head, above the nape of the neck.
 
The graceful limbs of the figure are expressed from the straight trunk of the torso, slightly bent forward as the figure places its head on the clasped hands, to the positioning of delicately stylized arms, bent at the elbows and placed on the knees of the bent, squatting legs, creating a rhythmic play of curves and counter-curves.

The figure sits on a circular platform, whose edge is decorated also with zigzag incisions, or motamota [2] and, below this, at the beginning of the blade, two brackets flare outwards from the blade to curl into coiled forms – these scrolling forms are generally considered to both represent birds’ heads and, by their style, to be the signature style of different carving schools. The present example, where the birds’ heads have effectively been concealed, is classified as belonging to the Master of the Naturalistic Style.[3]
 
The Massim people see their world reflected in their spatulas and identify strongly with the anthropomorphic figures represented on their handles. The spatulas are used in the chewing of areca palm seeds (also known as betel nuts) mixed with lime made from burnt coral and the fruit of the betel plant.
 
The chewing of lime causes euphoria by the nicotine-like properties of the areca-nuts, released by the alkaloids in the lime.[4] Some spatulas were reserved for the use of chiefs, others were used as gifts for partners in the kula, a ceremonial exchange of gifts, and yet others were used, according to legend, in sorcery.[5]

On your way through 'Océanie' or Maastricht, make a stop-over at Entwistle Paris, where, on Monday 11 March, we will have a special opening for an exhibition of a selection of treasures from the Pacific, including an exceptional Massim lime spatula, enale, by the renowned Master of the Naturalistic Style, Mutuaga; a rare and important inlaid shield from the Solomon Islands; and a remarkable canoe prow ornament, toto isu or nguzu nguzu, also from the Solomon Islands (see image above).

The exhibition will run from 9th March to 6th April 2019

 

En route pour 'Océanie' ou pour Maastricht, faites une escale à la galerie Entwistle Paris. Ouverture exceptionnelle le lundi 11 mars, où nous présenterons une sélection de trésors du Pacifique, parmi lesquels une spatule à chaux Massim, enale, par Mutuaga, le Maître du style naturaliste; un rare et important bouclier incrusté des Îles Salomon; et une figure de proue de pirogue, toto isu ou nguzu nguzu, également des Salomon (voir l'image ci-dessus).

L'exposition aura lieu entre 9 mars et 6 avril 2019