Oceanic Folk Art

Vanuatu Fernwood Grade Ritual Figure, Ambrym Island. A sculpture carved from a solid section of the fibrous trunk of a tree fern composed of aerial roots surrounding a woody core, in...

Impressively carved from a single block of wood, this monumental male spirit or ancestor figure originates from the Middle Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. The figure combines stron...

Early 20th century abstract tapa bark cloth from western Samoa with a royal coat of arms design. Hand-painted in deep brownish-black tones using traditional ‘o‘a sap blended with ch...

A wonderful, beautifully composed, gorgeously colored, quite engaging very large triptych screenprint titled "Black Marlin" by indigenous Australian...

A Tonga Pakipaki war club, Polynesia, 18th century An exceptional ironwood war club originating from Tonga, Polynesia. 18th century and hand carved with complex geometric patterns running the length of the shaft. 4 human and 1 botanical glyphs and a extra carving, see details in picture 2 The Tongan war club...

Two Oceanic ceremonial weapons from PNG highlands circa 20th century. It consists of two pieces. The first is an ax with a wood shaft and a flat elongated he...

A ritual artifact from the tribe of the Asmat poeple, an ethnic group of New Guinea living in the Papua province of Indonesia and South-western regions of Papua New Guinea, bis or bisj pole is carved out of a wild Mangrove tree and can reach a stunning height Their carvings depict stacked human and animal figures standing and on top always phallic symbols, in the shape of a canoe prow. Bis poles...

Ornately decorated rim, with abstract carvings on bottom. Beautiful rich patina.

A superbly executed carved and painted Crocodile Headrest from the Sepik region of Papua new Guinea The crocodile image finely carved in linear form with serrated tail with the cane Legs, the crocodile is revered and is a important part of the mythology of the Sepik region and features heavily in Sepik art...

Antique Māori Carved Hardwood Architectural Panel – Tiki Design A Rare and finely carved antique Māori hardwood architectural element, likely originati...

This striking early 20th century tapa bark cloth from Western Samoa and the greater Tongan cultural sphere is a rare and powerful example of Pacific Island textile artistry. Hand-pai...

A Mendi 'Compensation' or 'Revenge' Doll, traditionally made with pandanus leaves, bilum string, shells, wood, seeds and objets trouve with pigments. These dolls represent individua...

A wonderful, unique, and quite engaging original dot painting titled "Women's Ceremony, Ochre Pits, Milky Way" by indigenous Australian Aboriginal artist Janet Forrester Ngala (Born ...

A tall and narrow parrying shield from the Aboriginal people living in the Western Australia. The piece was carved out of a single block of hard wood t...

Large dark reddish brown carved wood mask with underlying traces of red pigment, from New Guinea Sepik River Area. Strong downward looking expression, carved fringe edges. Signs of...

Push Me Pull You Crawl Glaze Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 10 x W 37 x x H 45 cm Materials: Ceramic, Raku Clay Also available in other colors and ...

Pisces Crackle Glaze Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D8 x W 27 x x H 30 cm Materials: Ceramic Also available in other colors and custom sizes from 20cm tall - 5...

Surrealist carved Koa wood vase with a hand form "holding" the vessel. Early 20th century dada works by those such as Marcel Duchamp would have certainly found kinship in the concept...

A stunning abstract painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (also known as Mrs. Bennett; 1935-2013). Entitled "Tjukurla Country", this work was acrylic on Be...

Push Me Pull You Goldene Glaze Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 9 x W 35 x x H 40 cm Materials: Ceramic, Gold Also available in other colors and custom sizes f...

A wonderful, unique, and very engaging original indigenous Australian Aboriginal painting featuring a Wandjina figure. The painting is made with natural earth pigments which are han...

Hagi Spot Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 14 x W 32 x x H 40 cm Materials: Ceramic, Raku Clay Also available in other colors and custom sizes from 2...

A rare and important Oceanic Papuan Asmat tribal carved ancestral sago bowl (also known as a platter, serving shield and tray) crafted in the likes of the...

Presented is a stunning textile banner from the first World War, dating to 1918. The square tan cotton cloth is embroidered with two crossed flags, the ...

Gunstock shaped war club ‘Sali’. Ironwood root carved with traditional motifs. An excellent example, mounted on a custom stand in patinated bronze. Measure...

Sepik River (Keram River tributary), Papua New Guinea Ancestral Bust (Male Ancestor Figure) Wood, with age cracks and dark matte patina Height: 24 cm, base diameter 10.5 cm Period: M...

Papua New Guinea standing figure from the Bioma peoples with raised designs, stylized classic face, and additional face in stomach. Mounted on custom metal and wood base. Traces of...

Tapa dance shield. Baining People, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. First half, 20th century Pounded mulberry bark painted with natural pigments Measure...

This piece is an excellent example of an adornment used by Abelam warriors to frighten their enemies. They are held in a warrior’s mouth for courage and to intimidate their adversary...

A 19th century boomerang from Australia. Good patina and presented on a stand.

Late 19th-early 20th Bailer shell pectoral, Highlands, possibly Mendi People, Papua New Guinea These large shell pectorals were worn ceremonially by men and women in Papua New Guine...

Early 20th century abstract tapa bark cloth from western Samoa with a royal coat of arms design. Hand-painted in deep brownish-black tones using traditional ‘o‘a sap blended with ch...

A wonderful, large original acrylic painting on canvas by Australian Aboriginal artist/author/ activist/dramatist Sally Morgan titled "Marble Bar Pool." The work is signed, dated (...

Early to mid-20th century woven fiber and palm leaf conical hat with two vertical painted stripes on the front, from Mornigton Island, Queensland, Austral...

Early 20th Century Shield, Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea This large, post contact, shield is traditionally decorated in bold colors with a central circle. This ...

A contemporary painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Ronnie Tjampitjinpa (1943-2023). Entitled "Rain Dreaming", the artwork was acrylic on canvas and painted in 1999 Fully documented: originally purchased in 1999 from Kimberley Australian Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, cat. no. KA 708/99; The in the collection of The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica; It was exhibited in: "G'Day LA" Australia Week, in partnership with the Australian Consulate Los Angeles, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA, 15-25 January 2004. It is housed in a black thin wood frame. Ronnie Tjampitjinpa was born in Pintupi land at Muyinnga, about 100 kilometres west of the Kintore Range, just across the Western Australian border. He is the son of Uta Uta Tjangala’s older brother, Minpuru Tjangala (c.1899–1976). Artist's Biography (Courtesy of Art Gallery NSW) After his initiation into Pintupi law at the site of Yumari, Tjampitjinpa and his younger brother Smithy Zimran Tjampitjinpa walked into the Aboriginal community of Yuendumu. They later joined their parents and other siblings – who had come in to Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) in 1956 from the Dover Hills/Yumari area – at the new settlement of Papunya. Tjampitjinpa worked as a labourer, assisting with the fencing of the aerodromes at Papunya and Ikuntji. He was one of the youngest of the group of men who began painting at the start of the Western Desert art movement in 1971, and was a founder of Paunya Tula Artists. During the 1970s, Tjampitjinpa was preoccupied with returning to his traditional lands and became a strong advocate for the outstation movement, travelling between meetings in Papunya, Yuendumu, Wirrimanu (Balgo) and Mount Doreen Station. His goal was finally achieved with the establishment of the Walungurru (Kintore) settlement in 1981. Tjampitjinpa moved there with his young family in 1983, establishing an outstation at Ininti (Redbank) and serving as chairman of the Kintore Outstation Council. During this period, he emerged as one of Papunya Tula Artists’ major painters, pioneering the bold, scaled-up, linear style that came to dominate many of the Walungurru painters’ work during the 1990s. His distinctive aesthetic preoccupa-tion is exemplified in the untitled works of 1994 and 2001. Now one of the last founding members of Papunya Tula Artists, Tjampitjinpa’s career spans more than 40 years. He has had six solo exhibitions since 1989 in Australia, most recently at Utopia Art, Sydney. Throughout the 1980s Tjampitjinpa worked devotedly on a land claim for Ininti, holding meetings in Darwin, Warmun (Turkey Creek...

Ornately decorated rim, with abstract carving on bottom. Beautiful rich patina.

Woven painted basketry yam helmet style mask from Papua New Guinea. Hollow woven form with traces of red and white pigments. Would have been put on top of a large yam as a part of th...

Obliqua Green Raku Clay Ceramic Sculpture by Stephanie Phillips Dimensions: D 12 x W 28 x x H 45 cm Materials: Ceramic, Raku Clay Also available in other colors and custom sizes fr...

Entitled "Two Kuniya (Pythons) During Tingari Cycle", this mesmerizing painting was painted by Australian aboriginal artist Kenny Williams Tjampitjinpa...

A wonderful, unique, and quite engaging original painting titled "Snake And Milky Way Dreaming" by indigenous Australian Aboriginal artist Janet ...

In Snowman, Natalie Steer continues her exploration of gesture, materiality and emotional suggestion — a language she has developed through her ongoing interest in the expressive pot...

Early Papua New Guinea Sepik light wood yam mask. Elegant flame shaped form, old, oxidized wood with black accents, traces of yellow and white pigments. Small...

Ceremonial mask from the Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea, associated with the dance traditions of the Eastern Highlands. Crafted from wood, cowrie shells, clay, pigment, and p...

A striking abstract painting by Australian Aboriginal painter Walangkura Napanangka (1940-2014), one of the matching pair painted in 2007 in Alice Spring. Entitled "Kutungka", acrylic on Belgium linen, inscribed on reverse with gallery catalog no. "Kutungka" depicts the landscape of a country where an old woman named "Kutungka" travelled from Malparingya to Kaltarra in Western Desert during the Dreamtime creation. The highly abstract forms are the dreamtime memory of the land features, such as rock piles and waterholes. Provenance: Grasstree Gallery, Australia. It comes with a COA from the gallery as well as progressive photos taken during the creation of this painting by the artist in 2007. Brief biography From Australian Art Gallery artist...

Ceremonial Oceanian Mask made of Vegetal fibers covered with colored clay in certain parts probably used for ceremonial events . The organic and strange shape is well known in these ...

Abstract and anthropomorphic large figure from the Pie River, located to the east of the Era River. Abstract, anthropomorphic form stands on separate legs with dynamic varying outline, wide hips, and torso leading straight to a rounded head. Figure represents Irivake, the ancestor hero who is considered as the founder of headhunting, also believed to have climbed to the sky and to command lightning. It is enlivened with various curvilinear details highlighted with red and white pigments. The back appears with a collection number in red, and the following: Ipigau (village), Upper Pie River, Papua, P63.20. This is a 'later example', not a first generation piece with several age cracks. It has likely seen field use, but not extensive field use. Provenance: Private New Jersey Collection, ex. Michael Rockefeller...

An Unusual Polynesian Fighting Club With a superb geometric upper section and unusual spiral twist grip Dark glossy patina and excellent colour, with a lug to the butt and ‘old’ pa...

Decorative coral sculpture. The coral is from the 1970s and has a beautiful light colored green shade. Medium size coral sculpture.

Early woven painted basketry yam mask from Papua New Guinea. Bug eyed or bird faced mask with heavy incrustation from many years of use, a striking mask that ...

A striking abstract painting by Australian Aboriginal painter Walangkura Napanangka (1940-2014), one of the matching pair painted in 2007 in Alice Spring. Entitled "Kutungka", acrylic on Belgium linen, inscribed on reverse with gallery catalog no. "Kutungka" depicts the landscape of a country where an old woman named "Kutungka" travelled from Malparingya to Kaltarra in Western Desert during the Dreamtime creation. The highly abstract forms are the dreamtime memory of the land features, such as rock piles and waterholes. Provenance: Grasstree Gallery, Australia. It comes with a COA from the gallery as well as progressive photos taken during the creation of this painting by the artist in 2007. Brief biography From Australian Art Gallery...

Vintage 1970s Shaggy Sheepskin Bed Throw or Rug New Zealand Natural Ivory White A luxurious 1970s-style shaggy sheepskin bed throw or rug, hand-quilted from pieces of fluffy wild sh...

A wonderful, unique, and very engaging original indigenous painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Thompson Yulidjirri, (Circa 1930-2009) featuring two mythical creatures. The paint...

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club originates from the Morobe Province, which is a very remote area located within the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Gu...

An Unusual Polynesian Fighting Club of Tapered ‘Pole’ Form Decorated all over with a geometric design and ‘glyph’ type motifs Dark glossy patina, excellent colour, retaining the or...

Fine Aboriginal Wunda shield in carved with Zigzag Geometric fluted design colored with red and cream pigment. As well as a collectible historical Tribal artefact this Shield makes ...

A single Yua Wenga currency from the early 20th century on custom iron stand. This antique tribal currency piece from Papua New Guinea has been carved ...

mid-20th century Tami Islands Papua new guinea wooden feast bowl Of classic form, each end carved with raised and incised imagery depicting stylized sea cr...

A triptych panel painting by Australian Aboriginal artist Ronnie Tjampitjinpa (1943-2023). Entitled "Tingari Cycle", the artwork was painted in 2002 for Art Mob, Tasmania in oil on c...

This rare antique Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") war club is from the remote Morobe Province located within the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The head is carved from...