Male Figure (telum)
- Artist Culture
- Astrolabe Bay artist
- Date
- mid- to late 19th century
- Material
- Wood, pigment
- Classification
- Sculpture, wood
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 106
- Dimensions
- 51 3/16 x 9 5/8 in. (130 x 24.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 43:1977
NOTES
A bird, possibly a hornbill, sits atop this figure’s head. The bird likely indicates the clan to which the important individual represented belonged. In New Guinea, each animal or plant species is linked to a precise clan or familial group by descent. Beneath the figure’s chin, a component of body decoration conveys high social status among men from Astrolabe Bay. This sculpture would have appeared along with similar examples in the communal men’s house. There, young men would see the sculptures during their initiation to adulthood.
Collected in the Astrolabe Bay region at the end of the 19th century by a Hungarian researcher, this work is a rare testament to art of this area. Germany established a colony at Astrolabe Bay in 1884, making it one of the earliest locations in New Guinea to be settled by Europeans. Local, traditions-based art making diminished as communities converted to Christianity.
Collected in the Astrolabe Bay region at the end of the 19th century by a Hungarian researcher, this work is a rare testament to art of this area. Germany established a colony at Astrolabe Bay in 1884, making it one of the earliest locations in New Guinea to be settled by Europeans. Local, traditions-based art making diminished as communities converted to Christianity.
Provenance
1892 - 1973
Ethnographic Museum, Budapest, Hungary, collected by Samuel Fenichel (1868–1893) in Papua New Guinea [1]
1973
Maurice Bonnefoy, Paris, France, acquired from Ethnographic Museum by exchange [2]
1973 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Maurice Bonnefoy [3]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] In a letter dated May 11, 1973 to Morton D. May, Maurice Bonnefoy offered this object for sale, and stated he had "just received" it [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. An invoice dated October 23, 1973 from Bonnefoy to May documents the purchase, listed as “#2841 / “Telum” standing figure...Astrolabe Bay…Collected by Samuel Fenichel, 1892 / Ex-Collection Ethnographical Museum (Neprajzi Muzeum), Budapest, Hungary, No. 70.161.1 – exchange” [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. According to an entry in Volume 4 of the Encyclopedia of Entomology (2008), Fenichel was an entomologist commissioned by the Hungarian National Museum to collect zoological and ethnographical materials for its collections. He "arrived to German New Guinea (Kaiser Wilhelmsland) in December 1891...He explored the country around Astrolabe Bay...he also collected ethnographical objects, the number of items in his collection were over 3,000. Most of Fenichel's specimens reached the Hungarian National Museum..." [Encyclopedia of Entomology. Capinera, John L., ed. 2nd Edition. Vol. 4. Dordrecht: Springer Science Business Media, 2008, p.1420-1421]. An article written by Gábor Vargyus (1992) provides insight to the objects Fenichel collected, particularly telums: "...from the eight telum in the museum's possession seven come from Fenichel..." [Vargyas, Gábor. "A Short History of the Pacific Collections of the Ethnographic Museum, Budapest." Pacific Arts, No. 5, January 1992: 24-32]. The Ethnographic Museum (Hungarian: Néprajzi Múzeum) was originally called the Ethnographic Department of the Hungarian National Museum.
[2] See Note [1].
[3] See Note [1].
[4] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14, 1977.
Ethnographic Museum, Budapest, Hungary, collected by Samuel Fenichel (1868–1893) in Papua New Guinea [1]
1973
Maurice Bonnefoy, Paris, France, acquired from Ethnographic Museum by exchange [2]
1973 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Maurice Bonnefoy [3]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [4]
Notes:
[1] In a letter dated May 11, 1973 to Morton D. May, Maurice Bonnefoy offered this object for sale, and stated he had "just received" it [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. An invoice dated October 23, 1973 from Bonnefoy to May documents the purchase, listed as “#2841 / “Telum” standing figure...Astrolabe Bay…Collected by Samuel Fenichel, 1892 / Ex-Collection Ethnographical Museum (Neprajzi Muzeum), Budapest, Hungary, No. 70.161.1 – exchange” [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. According to an entry in Volume 4 of the Encyclopedia of Entomology (2008), Fenichel was an entomologist commissioned by the Hungarian National Museum to collect zoological and ethnographical materials for its collections. He "arrived to German New Guinea (Kaiser Wilhelmsland) in December 1891...He explored the country around Astrolabe Bay...he also collected ethnographical objects, the number of items in his collection were over 3,000. Most of Fenichel's specimens reached the Hungarian National Museum..." [Encyclopedia of Entomology. Capinera, John L., ed. 2nd Edition. Vol. 4. Dordrecht: Springer Science Business Media, 2008, p.1420-1421]. An article written by Gábor Vargyus (1992) provides insight to the objects Fenichel collected, particularly telums: "...from the eight telum in the museum's possession seven come from Fenichel..." [Vargyas, Gábor. "A Short History of the Pacific Collections of the Ethnographic Museum, Budapest." Pacific Arts, No. 5, January 1992: 24-32]. The Ethnographic Museum (Hungarian: Néprajzi Múzeum) was originally called the Ethnographic Department of the Hungarian National Museum.
[2] See Note [1].
[3] See Note [1].
[4] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14, 1977.