Door Board (jovo or tale)
- Artist Culture
- Kanak artist
- Date
- mid-19th century
- Material
- Wood, pigment
- from
- Melanesia, New Caledonia, Oceania
- Classification
- Architectural elements, wood
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 106
- Dimensions
- 44 1/8 x 21 9/16 in. (112 x 54.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 73:1977
NOTES
This massive door board with a strong, carved face on its upper portion was one of the most visible elements of a grand chief’s house, which stood majestically at the end of the long, central village pathway. The lower section of the door includes chevron patterning that evokes the netting or woven mats in which the dead were buried. The door was essential in establishing the chief’s residence as the most notable structure in a village. Originating from the chief’s house, his proclamations would circulate along the village’s central pathway, much as gifts do during grand ceremonial exchanges.
Provenance
by 1970 - 1973
Maurice Bonnefoy, New York, NY and Paris, France [1]
1973 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Maurice Bonnefoy [2]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] In the 1970 exhibition catalogue Art Océanien, Maurice Bonnefoy / d'Arcy Galleries is listed as the owner of this object [Musée d'Ethnographie de Neuchâtel. Art Océanien. Neuchâtel, Switzerland: 1970, p. 95].
[2] An invoice dated October 23, 1973 from Maurice Bonnefoy to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "#1454 "Talé" door post, carved to represent ancestor spirits; wood, traces of coloring. North West New Caledonia" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.
Maurice Bonnefoy, New York, NY and Paris, France [1]
1973 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Maurice Bonnefoy [2]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] In the 1970 exhibition catalogue Art Océanien, Maurice Bonnefoy / d'Arcy Galleries is listed as the owner of this object [Musée d'Ethnographie de Neuchâtel. Art Océanien. Neuchâtel, Switzerland: 1970, p. 95].
[2] An invoice dated October 23, 1973 from Maurice Bonnefoy to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as "#1454 "Talé" door post, carved to represent ancestor spirits; wood, traces of coloring. North West New Caledonia" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] 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.