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Lot Essay
Selon les observations de Speiser, les pilons de ce type étaient employés pour broyer le pudding et le mélanger au lait de coco dans de grands bols en bois. Les pilons sculptés ne se rencontrent que dans les régions nord-occidentales de l’île d'Espíritu Santo ainsi que dans les îles Torres. On pense qu’ils auraient été importés des îles Banks ; il est possible que les pilons ornés de motifs plus élaborés, tels qu’une mâchoire de porc, une queue de poisson ou une jambe humaine, aient été réservés aux Suque, les membres de haut rang de la société masculine. Toutefois, cette variété ornementale relativement développée n’exclut pas que certains types aient été d’une extrême rareté. Il en va de même pour la pièce ici exposée, finement sculptée en forme de jambe. Pour un regard contemporain, l’œuvre révèle une indéniable dimension surréaliste.
Pour un exemple comparable, voir Speiser, F., Ethnographische Materialien aus den Neuen Hebriden und den Banks-Inseln, Bâle, 1923, pl. 23, n° 12.
According to Speiser’s observations, pestles of this type were used to pound pudding and mix it with coconut milk in large wooden bowls. Carved pestles are found only in the northwestern regions of Espíritu Santo Island and in the Torres Islands. Believed to have been imported from the Banks Islands, it is possible that pestles with more elaborate decorations, such as a pig’s jaw, a fish tail, or a human leg, were used exclusively by Suque, the high-ranking members of the men's society. However, this relatively wide range of decorative motifs does not preclude certain types from being exceptionally rare. Such is the case with the present lot, which is elegantly shaped in the form of a leg. To a modern viewer, the work resonates with a distinctly Surrealist quality.
For a comparable example, see Speiser, F., Ethnographische Materialien aus den Neuen Hebriden und den Banks-Inseln, Bâle, 1923, pl. 23, no. 12.
Pour un exemple comparable, voir Speiser, F., Ethnographische Materialien aus den Neuen Hebriden und den Banks-Inseln, Bâle, 1923, pl. 23, n° 12.
According to Speiser’s observations, pestles of this type were used to pound pudding and mix it with coconut milk in large wooden bowls. Carved pestles are found only in the northwestern regions of Espíritu Santo Island and in the Torres Islands. Believed to have been imported from the Banks Islands, it is possible that pestles with more elaborate decorations, such as a pig’s jaw, a fish tail, or a human leg, were used exclusively by Suque, the high-ranking members of the men's society. However, this relatively wide range of decorative motifs does not preclude certain types from being exceptionally rare. Such is the case with the present lot, which is elegantly shaped in the form of a leg. To a modern viewer, the work resonates with a distinctly Surrealist quality.
For a comparable example, see Speiser, F., Ethnographische Materialien aus den Neuen Hebriden und den Banks-Inseln, Bâle, 1923, pl. 23, no. 12.