Pacific Islands Furniture

Antique Collectible Ethnic Tribal Folk Art Crescent Shell Pieces Choker Necklaces from Papua New Guinea. Shell pieces cut from the gold lipped pearl oyster found off the waters of Papua New Guinea. Their opalescent color ranges from deep gold yellow to pale yellow. Each is pierced at the crescent point for a cord attachment enabling the owner to wear them singly or together around the neck. One had a line of holes along the inner edge of the crescent as a decorative feature. Highly Collectible Museum Pieces, worn by men and women rare old Kina Shell Necklaces (Huge Mother of Pearl Crescent) Pectoral Collected from the Foi Tribe (Papua New Guinea), Circa 1920’s. From the Art collection of Marian and John Scott. Acquisition date: 1969. Evaluation date records: 1982. About: For the people of the Highlands, shells were considered treasures. As they were items that came from distant shores of Papua New Guinea they were already objects used for trade. The number one source of mother of pearl wealth was and is still is from the Thursday Island, one of the chain of Island that suggests the ancient land bridge across the Torres Straits from Cape York, Australia to New Guinea. They were fashioned into objects of adornment worn on costumes, hair, nose, etc. Of particular rarity was the gold lipped pearl shell. References: Plumes and Arrows, Inside New Guinea, COlin Simpson, Angus and RObertson, 1968. CATEGORY Anthropology: Ethnography. Tribal Kina Shell Pectoral Necklace, Pearl shell ornamentation (neck). Kina (shell money) Oject part of Pacific Cultures Collections. Purchased from the amazing private collection of Mark Lissauer who spent his life collecting niche ethnographic pieces. About Mark Lissauer: Mark Lissauer spent forty years travelling abroad for months at a time collecting ethnographic artefacts primarily from New Guinea and the islands of the West Pacific, and from Asia and Himalayan countries. Fluent in five languages and having in the course of business travelled to more than forty countries, Mark is well-known to museums and art-collectors around the world for his long career and his interesting and diverse collection of rare ethnographic material. Mark knows the origin and symbolism of each piece. Through extensive research and more than ninety trips around the globe, Mark familiarised himself with the traditions of the various cultures he visited in order to understand the meaning of each object to its region and tribe. His home has a specialist library and several rooms are filled with tribal carvings, textiles and ethnographica. He acquired his first tribal piece in 1948 during a business trip to Milne Bay, New Guinea, and has since documented the acquisition of some 35,000 items. Several thousands of these have been sold to important private collections and museums worldwide, including the Rockefeller Museum, the British Museum and the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, now incorporated into the Louvre Museum. Estimator certificate of authenticity by Wayne Heathcote Tribal Art Dealer and Expert. Heathcote has a flash gallery in Brussels, where much of the tribal art business is centred, and is an expert at Sotheby's tribal art sale...

Cache-Sexe Papua New Guinea Culture, Papua New Guinea Natural fibers, boar’s tails, and pigment Mid 20th C. Dimensions: 10 w x 12 h in./13.75 w ...

Early Papua New Guinea painted Maprik carved hard wood mask with long curved tongue. Mid-20th century, ex Michael Hamson, CA with label on back. Classic Maprik colors with faded po...

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...

20th Century Oceanic Wood Feast Platter with Stylized Flying Fox Motif Boiken Peoples, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea The platter's rich dark brown ...

A vintage carved wood crocodile head boat prow from Papua New Guinea. This mid-20th century Papua New Guinean boat prow has been carved out of wood and featu...

A pair of carved wood catfish head boat prows from Papua New Guinea. This pair of mid-20th century Papua New Guinean boat prows has been carved out of wood and features the head of a...

A Finely Carved Lime Spatula by an Unknown Master Carver Depicting a possibly unique Mother and Child (?) or Male and Female (?) Wood ebony with lime infill Massim Area, Papua New...

A Papua New Guinea carved-wood Lumi shield from the mid-20th century. This vintage war shield from the West Sepik region, the northwestern most province of...

A Superbly Carved Lime Spatula Representing Two Figures Wood (ebony) Northern (?) Massim, New Guinea 19th Century Size: 31cm long - 12¼ ins long Provenance: Ex Anthony Meyer G...

Original vintage travel poster for Fiji Hub of the South Pacific featuring a great design depicting a traffic police man in uniform wearing a blue sh...

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...

Pair of Mid-century era side table pair with two-tier Mahogany tops. Each table features stylish steam-bent "Double Arch" sides with solid mahogany tops. 1950, United States We onl...

Antique and exceptional drum of the Lower Sepik / Middle Sepik Papua New Guinea A lovely patina and traces of use. People : Iatmul? Country Papua New Guinea Length: 36 cm Very good c...

Ancient and exceptional mask of the brag type, Murik Lakes , Mouth Of The Lower Sepik / Ramu Papua New Guinea A lovely patina and traces of red/brown ochres. Length: 47 cm Very good ...

Objects crafted from the shell of the giant Tridacna clam, also known as the fossilized giant clam, held great value among numerous Melanesian peoples. The artistry of working with f...

Antique and exceptional drum of the Lower Sepik / Middle Sepik Papua New Guinea A lovely patina and traces of use. People : Iatmul? Country Papua New Guinea Length: 40 cm Very good c...

Antique and exceptional stirrer of the Murik Lakes or Schouten Island , Mouth Of The Lower Sepik / Ramu Papua New Guinea Coastal Sepik region A lovely patina and traces of use. Lengt...

Antique and exceptional spoon of the Murik Lakes or Schouten Island , Mouth Of The Lower Sepik / Ramu Papua New Guinea Available @ art Gallery Decoster Belgium A lovely patina and t...

Antique and exceptional spoon of the Murik Lakes or Schouten Island , Mouth Of The Lower Sepik / Ramu Papua New Guinea Available @ art Gallery Decoster Belgium A lovely patina and t...

A pair of Kiakavo wooden clubs from the Fiji Islands on custom stands. These vintage tribal wood clubs, carved by stone, are a beautiful example of the dis...

Wonderful Sculpture by the noted German born Tahitian artist Andreas Dettloff. The sculpture is titled “My Polynesian Heart” and dated 2003. It, or an extremely similar one is depict...