20 - Crochet de suspension fleuve Sepik, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée

Crochet de suspension fleuve Sepik, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée Wood H. 56 cm; W. 18.5 cm A leading figure in the Dutch market for African and Oceanic art, Leendert van Lier (1910–1995) was one of the great postwar dealers and collectors. Particularly renowned for his interest in Oceanic art, he assembled a private collection of exceptional quality, many works from which have since found their way into major public and private collections. Preserved in his collection, this hook serves as a historical testament to Van Lier’s appreciation for Oceanic creative genius. Among the most iconic carved objects from the vast cultural region of the Sepik River—particularly in the Middle Sepik regions—hooks held a central place in ritual life. Carved in the likeness of ancestors, mythical spirits, or totemic beings associated with clans, they embodied the role of messengers through their very existence. This remarkable hook stands out for the extraordinary elegance of its slender silhouette, the refinement of its ornamentation, and the subtle interplay between the human figure and its functional element. The figure, depicted standing in a hieratic pose, seems to be born, to appear, and to emerge from the very structure of the object, as if its practical function were transformed here into a vessel for an ancestral presence. Provenance - Formerly in the collection of Leendert Van Lier (1910–1995), Amsterdam - Christie’s Amsterdam auction, “African, Oceanic, and Indonesian Art from the Van Lier Collection,” April 15, 1997, lot 130 - Galerie Flak Collection, Paris - Pierre Mondoloni Collection, France, acquired from the previous owner in 2006 Littérature Further Reading Allen Wardwell, *The Art of the Sepik River*, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1971 Suzanne Greub and Christian Kaufmann, *Kunst am Sepik: Ausdruck und Ornament. Bildwerke einer alten Tropenkultur in Papua-Neuguinea*, Basel, Greub, 1985 Philippe Peltier, Markus Schindlbeck, and Christian Kaufmann (eds.), Sepik: Arts of Papua New Guinea, exhibition catalog [Paris, Galerie-Jardin of the Musée du quai Branly, October 27, 2015–February 7, 2016], Paris, Skira, 2015 Eric K. Silverman, *Island Rivers: A History of the Islanders of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea*, Cambridge University Press, 1996 Barry Craig (ed.), *Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes: The Masterpieces Exhibition – Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery*, Crawford House Publ., 2010