New Guinea art : masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
New Guinea art : masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2005
- : trade ed. : [set]
- : museum ed. : [set]
- v. 1
- v. 2
Available at 5 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
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National Museum of Ethnology. Library
v. 1OJ1/709.95/Fri/1F119002918,
v. 2OJ1/709.95/Fri/2F119002919
Note
v. 2: Essays by Gregory Hodgins, Philippe Peltier, Dirk Smidt, and Robert L. Welsch
v. 2: Includes bibliographical references (p. [196]-201) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The appeal of New Guinea's art lies in the people's extraordinary resourcefulness and creativity. For centuries, they have made objects in order to communicate with the spirit world. Many pieces, based on myths and ancient religious themes, stand comparison with the world's great sculptural masterpieces. Some were made in response to health, fertility or rites of passage; others signified individual stature in a village, invoked the end of a mourning ritual, or warded off evil and sickness. Everyday objects were just as carefully crafted, including house posts, dishes, canoes or shields. The range of media reflects the natural resources available to the New Guinean: shell, rock, feathers, bone, wood, bark, cloth, sago-leaf, nuts and seeds, human hair, and brilliant colours from natural pigments. Although these objects were never intended to last beyond their immediate function, they have in fact survived for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years. The arts of New Guinea have been little known to Western audiences for centuries, partly for geographical reasons.
New Guinea is a remote island the size of France and Italy combined, just east of Indonesia and north of Australia in the South Pacific. The terrain is mountainous with coastal lowlands, and the climate is aggressively humid and prone to monsoon rains. Almost a thousand languages are spoken on the island, and it is home to a variety of distinct cultures and art styles. This elegantly presented two-volume publication depicts the art of New Guinea in richer detail than ever before. It is a detailed and broad-based survey, drawn from the Jolika Collection of John and Marcia Friede - the world's foremost private collection. Volume I contains the lavish selection of magnificent colour plates. Volume II features three essays by noted scholars and an extensive, illustrated catalogue section by John Friede. Publication will coincide with the reopening in autumn 2005 of the newly renovated de Young Museum in San Francisco, an institution with a strong commitment to the arts of the South Pacific.
With John and Marcia Friede's generous gift of the collection, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will become the United State's leading centre for the study and preservation of New Guinea's art.
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