FOR PICK-UP IN PARIS - Lot 70

Works collected by the American anthropologist John Charles (Jack) Edler between 1970 and 1978 or from his personal collection and sold to the current owner.

NO RESERVE PRICE

A word from the collector:

I became interested in the art of Papua New Guinea in the early 2000s, following a distressing realization of the difficulty of finding authentic pieces of African art. As I studied the history of colonization, I realized that Oceania, and in particular the highlands of Papua, had only been discovered a few decades ago, that they were still very difficult to access, and that the cultures had been preserved until almost the end of the 20th century.

The choice is immense, but I have decided to limit my attention to the statuary of the Kwoma, Mayo and Nukuma ethnic groups, cultivators of the middle-high Sepik region, whose creations are linked to the cultivation of yams and the spirits of fertility, a sort of counterpart to the Lobi people of West Africa.

My choice is not guided by any particular artistic quest, but by an obvious need to confront the Western world's lack of awareness, its infinite capacity to destroy the environment and endlessly exploit natural resources, with peoples who live in harmony with their environment, and who place fertility at the highest level of their values, as a gift to be honored throughout life. It's a world where art is everywhere, and where achievements are most often collective (...)

Over the next ten years or so, I established regular contact with John Charles Edler, an American anthropologist and author of several books on the subject, who had been collecting in the area since the late 1960s. Our exchanges focus mainly on Kwoma, Mayo and Nukuma statuary.

In 2008/09, the Musée du Quai Branly organized the "Rouge Kwoma" exhibition and invited three artists from the village of Bangwis, Raymond Marek Kowspi and his two sons. As luck would have it, I was able to acquire three original paintings by Raymond Marek Kowspi, which were painted at the same time as Maxime Rovere was preparing the Paris exhibition with the artists.

My ultimate project with these acquisitions was to bring these objects into dialogue with the eye of contemporary photographers, but I ran out of time; institutional support would undoubtedly have been needed to achieve a quality presentation.

That's why this set will feature three unique original silver prints by Michel Bertrand.

Unfortunately I was unable to do more for these magnificent objects, and I hope that each of them will join a collection capable of promoting them as they deserve.

EXHIBITION:

By appointment only (01 42 24 80 76)

DELIVERY:

By appointment only (01 42 24 80 76), before December 2, 2025.

Items are to be picked up at Calade de Bourdaric - 07150 Vallon Pont d'Arc, with the exception of the last lot, which is kept at the office.

For a shipping quote, please contact The Packengers (hello@thepackengers.com).