mastering worlds Explor ing Space and Scale in Tr ibal and Asiatic Ar t
A Note on Scale This exhibition grew out of a conversation between my partner and me. Tai, a Bonsai collector, and I realized that no one had ever formally paired classical bonsai with ethnographic art. The more we brainstormed, the more we found commonalities between the two. Chinese Bonsai is the art of designing a miniature tree in a shallow pot or container. Inspired by nature, Bonsai originated in China around 1300 years ago. Originally only the elite of ancient China practiced Bonsai. The miniatures trees were considered a luxury and were given as gifts. Around 1100 AD Buddhist monks brought the Bonsai to Japan and the Japanese adopted the art. It was not until the early 1900’s that Bonsai spread to the rest of the world. The early 1900’s were also a transformative time for African and Oceanic art. Missionaries, explorers and academics were actively collecting and documenting the treasures they were discovering in the remote corners of Africa and Oceania. This period also marked the first formal exposure of these artworks to a Western audience. The purpose of Bonsai is not just to import nature to a pot, but to actually capture its spirit. Similarly, the idea of capturing the essence of something in a smaller container or vessel is something often found in tribal sculpture. By containing or distilling these larger spiritual presences, tribal groups were able to communicate with, control, and command them. African Ngangas, or priests, would use these miniatures as a crucial part in their divination rituals. Along the Sepik River, seemingly abstract carvings took the place of actual ancestors and were venerated in men’s huts or shrines. Each object in this show has been selected for its specificity, beauty, and importance within its culture of origin. One can draw many visual and academic parallels between the separate traditions and aesthetic diversity. For instance, the cascading lines of the Ponderosa Pine seem to reference the voluptuous forms in the Luba power figure. The surfaces of the Suiseki, or Scholar’s Stones, offer contemplation while painting evocative backdrops for the tribal pieces. All in all, I’m delighted and honored to present to you Mastering Worlds. I hope you’ll find common themes yourself in the collection, and that you will discover an appreciation for these divergent art forms, and the narratives they tell. Cole Harrell New York, 2015
TRIBAL
HuNSTEIN BAY MASk, Papua New Guinea Wood, pigment Lynda Cunningham Collection, New York Private Collection, New York State 03 02
MASSIM LADLE HANDLE, Papua New Guinea Wood Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes inv#mcxx-102) Private Collection, New York State 05 04
Left
LIME SPATuLA WITH FROg MOTIF, New Guinea Wood, traces of lime John & Marcia Friede Collection Private Collection, New York State
Right
LIME SPATuLA, New Guinea Wood, traces of lime W.D. Webster, uk, 1898 Possibly Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford John & Marcia Friede Collection Private Collection, New York State 07 06
DAN GOGE MASk, Côte d’Ivoire Wood, bells, cloth, animal hair, twine Randy kahn, Los Angeles Private Collection, New York 09 08
TOMA MA GO MASk, Liberia Wood, cowry shell, iron, organic material Sanford griffith, Washington D.C. Mark Eglinton, New York 11 10
SENuFO KPONYUGO MASk, Côte d’Ivoire Wood, brass Private Collection, Dusseldorf Published: k.F. Schadler, African Art in german Collections, 1973 Albert Stanziano, New Jersey 13 12
guRO MASk, Côte d’Ivoire Wood, pigment Discovered by a Providence, Rhode Island collector, 2003 Current owner acquired from above by descent 15 14
BAMANA CEREMONIAL kNIFE, Mali Wood, brass, iron Discovered in a private collection, uk Bryan Reeves, uk Fily keita, Los Angeles Mark Eglinton, New York 17 16
DOgON NOMMO FIguRE, Mali Wood, organic material Brooklyn Museum Collection, NY (inv #70.12.9) gift to above by David R. Markin, FL (1931-2013) 19 18
DOgON STAFF FRAgMENT, Mali Wood Jo de Buck, Brussels 21 20
SALAMPASu MASk, Zaire Wood, pigment, twine Alain De Monbrison, Paris, 1992 Frederick and Lucille Wallace, Sarasota, FL 23 22
SALAMPASu FIBER MASk, Zaire Twine, bark, pigment, feathers kurt gluckselig, New York Private Collection, New Jersey, acquired from above 2006 25 24
kuSu NKISI FIguRE, Congo Wood Michael Rhodes, New York 27 26
VERTEBRAE NECkLACE, Zaire Snake vertebrae, pigment, iron Amyas Naegele, New York 29 28
kuBA CuP, Congo wood Rosenberg Family, Pennsylvania Thence by descent, Samuel Rosenberg, Pennsylvania (1896-1972) kindred McLeary, Texas (1901-1949) gift from above 31 30
LuBA NKISI FIguRE, D.R. Congo Wood, trade beads, quartz, organic material, palm oil Collection of Henning Throne-Holst (1895-1980) Marabou Sculpture Park, Sweden, 1950’s Distinguished Private Collection, Stockholm Yale gVR: 0126246 33 32
EJAgHAM SkIN COVERED HEADCREST, Nigeria Wood, Leather, Pigment Josephine and Sol Levitt, New York Yale gVR #0119724 35 34
BONSAI
JAPANESE WHITE PINE 75-100 years old Last styled by Sean Smith Exhibited: 3rd u.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Published: 3rd u.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, 2012, p. 113 Pot: Shudei, Chinese, Nakawatari era,120-150 years old. 39 38
JAPANESE WHITE PINE 150 years old kennett Collection (till 2013) Pot: Yamaaki, Japanese, 30-40 years old 41 40
JAPANESE WHITE PINE 100-125 years old kennett Collection (till 2013) Pot: Yamaaki, Japanese, 30-40 years old 43 42
SHIMPAku JuNIPER 300 years old Last styled by Bjorn Bjorholm kennett Collection (till 2013) Pot: Sara Rayner, American, contemporary 45 44
TRIDENT MAPLE 50 years old Last styled by Matthew Ouwinga Pot: Shiro-kochi, Chinese, Nakawatari era, 120-150 years old 47 46
ZELkOVA 50 years old Last styled by Suthin Sukolsovisit Pot: Tokoname, Japanese 49 48
PONDEROSA PINE 200-250 years old Last styled by Sean Smith 51
SuISEkI
BANgAku ZYuuN, SHIZuOkA PREFECTuRE, Japan Trans: All the mountains can be seen on the cloud Sean Smith Collection (till 2014) Published: Valvanis, Fine Bonsai, 2012, p. 378 55 54
LAkE STONE, Japan Seiji Morimae, Japan Sean Smith Collection (till 2014) 57 56
CREATuRE STONE, China Richard Rosenblum Collection Thence by descent, Anna Rosenblum Sean Smith Collection (2013-2015) 59 58
kINPuRYO, SHIgA PREFECTuRE, Japan Trans: Autumn wind over the plains Sean Smith Collection (till 2014) Published: Valvanis, Fine Bonsai, 2012, p. 377 61 60
ACkNOWLEDgEMENTS
Photography Jonathan Allen
Catalogue Design Cole Harrell and Jaclyn Frohn of Impressed Inc.
With special thanks to Bjorn Bjorholm Tai Heng Cheng Nicholas Doyle Madison Ancient & Tribal Art Matthew Ouwinga Sean Smith William N. Valavanis Trisha king Walters
COLE HARRELL Presented in conjunction with New York Tribal Art Week, 2015