GUNN (Michael) — Ritual Arts of Oceania. New Ireland - Lot 150

Lot 150
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GUNN (Michael) — Ritual Arts of Oceania. New Ireland - Lot 150
GUNN (Michael) — Ritual Arts of Oceania. New Ireland GUNN (Michael). Ritual Arts of Oceania. New Ireland in the Collections of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. Photographs by Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini. Milan, Skira, 1997. Large quarto, 161 pp., numerous black-and-white and color photographic illustrations, full-page reproductions. Paperback, color illustrated cover. A major catalog devoted to the ritual arts of New Ireland and the remarkable Oceanic collections of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. Published on the occasion of the exhibition held in Paris at the Mona Bismarck Foundation from April 30 to June 28, 1997, this book by Michael Gunn serves as a definitive study of the sculpture and ritual traditions of New Ireland, in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. The BnF confirms the 1997 Skira edition and its connection to this exhibition. The book presents an exceptional selection of works held at the Barbier-Mueller Museum: masks, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, ornaments, and ceremonial sculptures, with a major focus on the Malagan tradition, whose extraordinary formal freedom represents one of the pinnacles of Oceanic art. The objects are reproduced with particularly meticulous photographs by Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini. A bibliographic description of the edition lists 132 illustrations, in addition to 43 color plates, including one full-page spread. The catalog holds significant documentary value: some of the works reproduced in this volume now boast prestigious provenance and appear in major auctions of Oceanic art. A Malagan sculpture from the former Barbier-Mueller collection, reproduced on pp. 132–133 of this volume, is thus documented by Christie’s as having a provenance that includes, notably, Charles Ratton, Josef Müller, and then Jean Paul and Monique Barbier-Mueller. The book is also cited in the standard bibliography on the art of New Ireland, notably by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Good to very good condition. Cover well-preserved, with a few very slight scuffs or signs of wear; corners slightly worn. Interior fresh and clean. The large color reproductions are particularly well-preserved.
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