An important neck rest with anthropomorphic figures - Lot 61

An important neck rest with anthropomorphic figures Tami Islands, Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea Wood with superb old patina and traces of polychromy Two old inscriptions under the base and inventory number under the pillow Provenance: - Captain Spring Collection, Finschafen (inv. 71024) - Robert Neuburger Collection, Paris, Geneva Through the quality of their production, the Tami Islands established themselves as the most important artistic center of a vast region, defined by its trade links and stretching from Astrolabe Bay to the southern shores of New Britain. Headstands were used to preserve the wearer's intricate hairstyles, allowing him or her to communicate with the ancestral world through dreams. In addition to their remarkable aesthetic appeal, they also represented an important spiritual foundation. The neck rests in Captain Sring's collection are of exceptional quality in every respect. The stylization of the two atlases, with their flat, triangular bodies and cylindrical faces, is remarkable and, according to John Friede, allows a plural reading of the work, as soon as you change your angle of vision. Its superb patina testifies, if proof were needed, to its age. Around 1898, Lajos Biro discovered a neckrest from the same workshop and probably by the same hand. To date, they are the only two known examples of the creative genius of this Melanesian sculptor (Christie's, Paris, June 23, 2016, no. 216).