Sachgebiete

Beschreibung:

Ca. 170 Seiten; mit sehr zahlreichen, z. Tl. ganzseitigen, farbigen Illustrationen; 28 cm. Originalleinen mit farb. illustr. Orig.-Schutzumschlag.

Bemerkung:

Ein gutes Exemplar; der farb. Umschlag stw. berieben u. m. geringfügigen Läsuren. - Aus der Bibliothek von Dr. H. J. Koloß / Völkerkunde-Museum Berlin; mit Beilagen. - Englisch. - Sehr zahlr. Illustrationen. - Startling, mysterious and beautiful, the works of African art in the Harry A. Franklin Family Collection cast a powerful spell on the beholder. The haunting features of a Baule face mask or a Dogon male figure, like mythic totems, seem to pierce the barriers separating one culture from another, one age from the next. In looking at the Luba Shankadi divination figure (lot 431), an exquisite mother and child sculpture with a rich black patina, one sees the same tender and protective imagery so familiar to us in the sculptures of Henry Moore on the same theme. Beneath surfaces of primal and often rugged beauty, these works comment on the world and on mankind with a timeless, metaphorical wisdom. In the best sense, this is a family collection, formed over two generations with a guiding spirit of shared taste and scholarship. Harry Franklin was one of the prominent early-figures in the field of primitive art, and with his wife, Ruth, he began forming a collection of African art in 1938. Previously, the couple had collected American art. Seren-dipitously, however, one of the contemporary American artists in whom they were interested owned several pieces of African art. After seeing them, the Franklins, enthralled, radically changed their direction of collecting, and, since then, they have focused on the extraordinary sculpture of Africa. It is worth noting that few collectors in the 1930s and 1940s knew much about this field. With remarkable passion and per-sistence, the Franklins set about acquiring the finest pieces of African art they could find. Valerie Franklin, their daughter, grew up surrounded by these wonderful objects. Trained as an art historian, she became actively involved with shaping and refining the collection, complementing her father's experienced, intuitive eye with a more formally trained approach to connoisseurship. This inspired family partnership was to give the Franklin Collection added strength, character, and direction. "Our goal," Valerie Franklin has written, "was to have a series of masterpieces that are supported and illuminated by an in-depth range of sculptures demonstrating the collective and individual artistic genius of a tribe. When one knows only a single example of artistry from a tribe, one has a perspective of that tribal aesthetic which is restricted to a single piece. In order to understand a particular tribal aesthetic, it is necessary to see a number of variations on a theme. It is rather like hearing one movement of a symphony and trying to understand the artistic intent. Upon hearing three movements of the symphony the artistic statement becomes clear." The breadth and depth of the Franklin Collection is seen clearly in the rich diversity of Baule material, with examples of three figural types, unusual and classical mask variations, and miniatures. In the Senufo section, the collection embraces an exceptional group of mask types as well as smaller classical figural sculptures. In the Yoruba grouping, the collection represents most of the major artistic hands identified in the last decade, with many important types of ritual and masquerade objects included. Highlighting the group are two major examples (lots 314 and 315) of the work of the greatest Yoruba carver, Olowe of Ise. ? (Vorwort Robert C. Woolley) // ... A Dan Face Mask, gagon, of oval form with projecting ridged snout decorated with black monkey's fur flanked by circular eyeholes, the lids covered with metal rings, one missing, surmounted by a domed forehead, the perimeter with parallel incised bands and pierced holes; blackened patina with red encrustation. Height 13 in. (33 cm.) // A Dan Guerze Face Mask, gagon, of elongated form, with articulated lower jaw attached with hide, inset with three remaining human teeth and tongue in relief, surmounted by an exaggerated nose, circular eyeholes with metal ring lids, arched brows and a domed forehead inset with three scrolling iron spikes, wearing a black monkey's fur beard and moustache, incised and pierced along the perimeter for attachment; encrusted dark brown patina. Height 16 in. (40.6 cm.) // A Northern Dan Face Mask, gagon, of oval form with ridged open muzzle, deep-set rectangular eyeholes framed with metal strips, and domed forehead with an encrusted iron staple on the crown, wearing a black monkey's fur moustache and beard, pierced along the perimeter for attachment; encrusted brown patina. Height 12 in. (30.5 cm.) // Six Miniature Masks, including three Bassa, of overall diamond form with typical features, pronounced foreheads and ridged coiffures, together with three Dan of oval form with tapering chins, obscured eyes and simple coiffures. Heights 2V2 in. to 43/s in. (6.4 cm. to 11.1 cm.) // Five Miniature Masks, including four Dan of typical form, including one with notched coiffure, another with pierced perimeter, another with rounded chin and grooved coiffure, and another with chin of square section, together with a Bassa mask, with notched scarification on the forehead and hair line. Heights W2 in. to 45/a in. (11.4 cm. to 12.1 cm.) // Five Miniature Masks, including four Dan, each of oval form, including two with rounded chins, two with chins pointed, together with a Bassa mask of broader form, with downturned mouth, upturned nose and projecting forehead, inset with an iron nail. Heights 27/s in. to 33/s)n. (7.3 cm. to 8.6 cm.) - (u.v.v.a.m.)