Canoe Prow Figurehead (nguzu nguzu or toto isu)
- Artist Culture
- Solomon Islands artist
- Date
- late 19th to early 20th century
- Material
- Wood, shell, pigment, resin
- made in
- Melanesia, Solomon Islands, Oceania
- Classification
- Sculpture, tools & equipment
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 106
- Dimensions
- 10 1/4 in. (26 cm)
- Credit Line
- Funds given by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ansehl, Trudy Busch, BSI Constructors, Inc., John Ferring, Anne W. Johnston, Martha Jones, the Michael D. and Margaret Ann Latta Charitable Foundation, funds given in honor of George L. Markus Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Miller, Mariko A. Nutt, Mrs. William Orthwein Jr., Doris Jean Serkes, John S. Swift Co., Inc. Charitable Trust, The 3rd Wednesdays, Margaret Wienke, donors to the 2000 and 2001 Art Enrichment Fund, and Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 36:2001
NOTES
Hair-like fibers and adornments on this bust figure evoke a striking realism. Such features would have appealed to westerners who, during the early 20th century, spurred a burgeoning market for souvenir art made by Solomon Islands sculptors. Although attractive to these foreign tastes, the bust’s inlay of mother-of-pearl and resin, derived from tropical evergreens ("Parinarium"), are materials characteristic of traditions-based sculpture from this region.
Provenance
c.1910 - 1940s
Private Collection, New Zealand
1940s
Darryl Willis, New Zealand, acquired from Private Collection
Unknown dealer, acquired from estate of Darryl Willis
- 2001
Oceanic Arts Australia, Sydney, Australia, purchased from unknown dealer
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Oceanic Arts Australia [1]
Notes:
The main source of this information comes from an email from Todd Barlin of Oceanic Arts Australia on May 15, 2001. Barlin reported that “Darryl Willis…acquired the canoe prow in New Zealand in the 1940’s from a Missionary that left the Solomon’s around 1910." Barlin confirmed Oceanic Arts Australia had “purchased the Canoe Prow only recently from another tribal art dealer…who had access to pieces from his [Darryl Willis] estate” [copy of email in SLAM document files].
[1] An invoice dated May 14, 2001 from Oceanic Arts Australia to the Saint Louis Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as “Canoe Prow Sculpture from the Western Solomon Islands” [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 24, 2001.
Private Collection, New Zealand
1940s
Darryl Willis, New Zealand, acquired from Private Collection
Unknown dealer, acquired from estate of Darryl Willis
- 2001
Oceanic Arts Australia, Sydney, Australia, purchased from unknown dealer
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Oceanic Arts Australia [1]
Notes:
The main source of this information comes from an email from Todd Barlin of Oceanic Arts Australia on May 15, 2001. Barlin reported that “Darryl Willis…acquired the canoe prow in New Zealand in the 1940’s from a Missionary that left the Solomon’s around 1910." Barlin confirmed Oceanic Arts Australia had “purchased the Canoe Prow only recently from another tribal art dealer…who had access to pieces from his [Darryl Willis] estate” [copy of email in SLAM document files].
[1] An invoice dated May 14, 2001 from Oceanic Arts Australia to the Saint Louis Art Museum documents the purchase of this object, listed as “Canoe Prow Sculpture from the Western Solomon Islands” [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 24, 2001.