Oceania, Etc: vendor of South Seas Art

Fellow collecting ohana, I have very exciting news. I have just met a husband and wife pair with a large store full of artistic wonders imported from the Pacific. NOTE: On their request, I have corrected and added additional information to this post.

The location:
Oceania, Etc.
3205 South Federal Highway
Delray Beach, FL 33483.
Owner: Dominique Rice
Store(561) 279-8099
home(561) 995-8445
email: [email protected]
Normal Hours for both stores: By appointment
Call anytime. Since they live 5 minutes from the location, Dominique or Gary can meet anyone at the store within 5 minutes any day, including sunday, from early morning to 9:00 PM. If they are not home,there is an additional portable number:
Tracy Simon: (561) 843 1632.
Tracy can answer questions as well and get anyone into the store.

The store is located in a wee strip mall on the southeast corner of Lindell and Federal Highway.

Dominique and her husband Gary travel to the Pacific every year and bring back carvings, rare statues and masks from Melanesia & other remote places, furniture such as unusual handcarved doors, armoires and beds, canoes, weapons, body wear, traditional costumes, jewelry, mats,etc. They primarily sell to collectors and decorators. They are very excited to show their finds to the TC ohana. Dominque is able to answer your questions about where the works are from and their cultural significance.

Here is a list of the islands that comprise the works on sale: Papua New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Sumatra, Nias, Java, Madura, Bali, Borneo, Sumba, Timor, Sulawesi, Lombok, Sumbawa, Manus,and the Trobriands. Dominique also mentioned she had a few pieces from Australia.

Gary and Dominique are willing to negotiate a reduction of up to 40% off retail price. Mr. Rice guaranteed that they'll give a 10% discount for purchases of $100 or more in either store.

If you go, do call or email first to make an appointment. I'm willing to go with you since its in walking distance from my job. PM or email me. If you just go, please note the Rices are running their daughter's store,"Only Pocket change", which is next to Oceania,etc. Go into that store which is on your left, tell them that Liz Lang sent you, and ask to see their store. The daughter's store has some of their stuff too since they ran out of room in the main showroom.

For me personally, I was a kid in a primitive candy store. They got such a kick out of my excitement to tell y'all.

Added 11/24/05 Links to other Oceania, Etc. threads
By Domi's request, I've added the links for ease to her photos of visiting Melanesia, her own art and her Ebay store.

Photos of Melanesia
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=14568&forum=6

Dominique's own art
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=16503&forum=6&4

Oceania, Etc. Ebay store (Asmatcollection)
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=16844&forum=12

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2005-11-23 05:34 ]

Dreamer, thanks SO Much for posting this. They are only 90 minutes from me. I HAVE to get there soon...

Only 30 minutes from me, thanks for the info, I'll check it out for sure, maybe meet Benzart there. (Hi Ben)

Hi Higi, Maybe we can do it. I'll have to talk to my chauffer.

BTW, I can arrange discount theatre tickets for any TC ohana who want to make a partial day of it in the area. The theater I work at is just south of Oceania over the canal. If you PM or email me with at least a days notice, I can make it happen.

Went there on my short stay down south. Was closed! Had a number to call to get the artist to stop by and open up, but no answer. Oh well, next time!

Nokala Rocky, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm going to get in touch with Dominique to get a better idea on when they are running their daughter's store. If their daughter's store is open, then someone is there to open Oceania, etc. I'll post what I find.

In the mean time, anyone wanting to see the store should please call or email them in advace to arrange an appointment.

I especially apologize for not being clear. They may have an OPEN sign up but the doors are locked because they are running their daughter's store next door. Will post more info shortly.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki on 2005-05-08 13:50 ]

Nokala Rocky, I bring a message from Dominique.

"Hi. You came to our store and it was closed. We are so sorry. I am the owner. I was at Disney with my granddaughter. The store was supposed to be open. However, my daughter, who was working there, had an accident in which a hammer fell on her head from the top of a ladder. She had to be rushed to the hospital and was not allowed to go back to work the next day. As mentioned, I was in Orlando. As a result, there was no one left to work and both stores were closed. I am so sorry about that. If you wish, I am happy to send pics of the inside of the store so you may get an idea of what we have. Let me know. Take care. So sorry again."
Dominique [email protected]

Thank you so much for the responce! I'll be better able to buy something next time I'm down as I finally start work tomorrow. Sorry to hear about your daughters accident. I actually had that happen to me! Running up and down ladders and forgetting the hammer on the top shelf!

The store looks fantastic! I spent about 5 minutes peeking through windows, but only probably saw less than half of what was in there! I'll be back!

OMG. I pass by that place every day on my lunch break from work and I never realized what it was until now! A few days ago, it crossed my mind that from the name, it might be a purveyor of polynesian art, but I had not yet taken the next step to enquire. Thanks for finding this, Idreamoftiki. By the way, where do you work? I'm at the Sanctuary Centre at the corner of Yamato and Federal Highway.

[ Edited by: joefla70 on 2005-05-09 11:59 ]

Joefla70, I work at the Caldwell Theatre in Levitz Plaza. Yet another place you've been passing during your lunch break.

Amazing what was under our noses this entire time. PM or email me sometime. Maybe I'll join you on one of your lunch breaks sometime.

Dominique asked me to post some photos of what she has in Oceania,etc. Very exciting.

"Statues from the sepik, mostly from Palembei village.

The village of Palembei is graced with two haus tambarans which are the men's houses. Unquestionably the cultural life that persists so strongly in this village has much to do with their presence as they preside over the village with the ghost of the previous spirit house close by. The crumbling house’s posts of the previous building remain until they become one with the earth again further reinforcing the continuing cycle.There, master carvers, whose work appear in Art Exhibitions around the world, created beautiful slim polychrome statues inspired by their spiritual beliefs and traditional tales. While firmly based in tradition, these contemporary works abound with both innovation and individual expression (not withstanding the relatively crude implements including stone adzes and drills and the shark skin rasps and polishes which are used to produce works of delicate grace.)

On the back wall are a few gope boards: In the Papuan Gulf province, located on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea, two dimensional works predominate superseding three dimensional sculpture in importance. Painting and relief carving is comprised of mostly symmetrical, curvilinear and chevron forms; red, black, and white compose the color scheme. Papuan Gulf art also shares stylistic elements with the central Sepik area and the northeast, suggesting a possible cultural link between these areas. Gope boards are elliptical in shape and incised with brightly colored abstract patterns. Warriors were entitled to have a gope board for each act of bravery and a board from the vanquished enemy's canoe held particular significance, transferring some of its previous owner's strength to the victor. Almost every ceremonial house contains numbers of oblong oval boards, with one side decorated with painted reliefs. Each of these gope boards is closely linked to a person or a special event; they are displayed with skulls of victims of head hunting rituals, either to protect clansmen from vindictive spirits of the enemy trophy heads or to enslave the spirits of the victims to the spirits of the gope."

"1) 3 hanging old textiles from Sumba representing royalty."

"2)A food hook from Palembei, PNG with a big round face: Food hooks are used functionally to preserve food and they hang from rafters in the hut: Food goods are hung from the hook in bilums (woven bags) or baskets to keep it safe from rats and mice, and children too!. Suspending food from the food hook discourages vermin, and the spirit thought to inhabit the hook is believed to retard spoilage. Skull hooks or racks have a similar use and display hanging skulls of ancestors or enemies."

"3) Behind the hook is a large handcarved green fish that was once hanging from the front of a decorated boat in Madura, East of Java. and on the right of the hook is an asmat plate reminiscent in design and color of the gope boards from a quite opposite area of this large island."

"A variety of smaller pieces except for the totem pole on the far left which only a section is seen. a beautiful 6 feet tall asmat work: the bisj pole. Especially created for the bis pokumbu, a war feast held before a headhunting expedition, they are perhaps the most impressive works of art by the Asmat, reaching heights of up to twenty feet. These poles are carved to commemorate the lives of important individuals (usually warriors)and serve as a promise that their deaths will be avenged. These works also assist in the transport of the souls of the dead to the realm of the ancestors. The mangrove tree, from which the sculptures are created, is actually turned upside down and a single planklike root is preserved (which will ultimately project from the top of the artwork). The imagery on the pole itself varies, but usually includes a series of stacked ancestral figures.

On the wall in back are seen some examples of framed tapa cloth from Irian jaya used in a region that has no cotton as a form of cloth and wear, made out of pounded bark and not woven then handpainted with motifs and natural pigments. The center statue represents a bride wearing the woven-with-nassa-shells' bride's veil shown on another of these sets of photos below."

"Varied masks, boards and statue from Palembei. All from PNG"

Trobriand statues
"Statue on left: The men of Japandai carve a unique statue representing an Aibom woman carrying a Chambri pottery fireplace on her head. During a long conflict with a neighboring village, these statues were set up in the village and gardens with offerings placed in the "fireplace" in a successful effort to fight the competing sorcerers' black magic. This figure has become popular and is also carved in Yenchenmangua and there, has other interpretations: it can represent the woman carrying coals during a wedding celebration, in a pottery fireplace shown on right, similar to the one represented on the statue’s head. These fireplaces are wide, scooped-out pots placed on the prepared earthen base in a slightly up-tilted position and wedged with stones for stability. Small fires are safely built in this open pot. Japandai is across the river and not far upstream from Pagwi. It is considered to be part of the Middle Sepik. Statue in center is a large beautiful piece from the trobriands with inserts of mother of pearl, extremely well carved with a precise attention to intricate and minute detail the Trobriands are famous for especially since carving tools are in a lot of cases broken shells and rusted nails from shipwrecks. Most carvings of the trobriands are made of ebony, kwila or rosewood.

Next to the statue on the right are 2 very old little lime containers and spatulas from the islands as well: Betel chewing is a central part of life in East New Guinea. Children even start chewing when they are a few years of age. Betel chewing is a mild stimulant which combined with lime reduces hunger pangs and produces a feeling of good humor, well being, and an increased capacity for work. The utensils used in chewing consist of lime containers, mortar and pestles to crush the betel nuts and lime spatulas like these that convey the lime to the mouth. All these items are decorated, the finest however being the work done on spatulas. Some carry highly stylized representations of human figures plants, or animals and should really be considered as miniature sculptures and intricate precise works of art. Betel chewing is part of working in the gardens, attending feasts, meeting friends, trade rituals, and making love for the people of East New Guinea and the Trobriands.

Chewing the Betel Nut : The husk of the nut is torn away using your teeth, the kernel is then taken and placed in the mouth and chewed. From the chewing saliva will build in your mouth. It is important not to swallow ... you must spit. If swallowed it can make you feel a little nauseated. Keep chewing! Take the mustard and moisten the end then dip it in the lime. Place it in towards the back of your mouth and bite the lime-coated section off and chew, don’t forget to spit. At this point your spit should turn red and you may feel a little light-headed. The effect is largely due to your chewing technique. You make the day of any local if you accept a Betel nut. A friend of mine did, he could not stop spitting saliva for 3 hours and was foaming at the mouth! That was the only result we could witness! We had a good laugh! The other "must" is to indulge in some fat and juicy grub worms for a memorable lunch, good local proteins that you can undoubtedly find at the closest Sepik Mc Donald from you !!" :wink:

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 22:59 ]

More pics

Jipae Statue Palembei
"This photo centers on a jipae full body costume from the asmat of Irian Jaya. The word Asmat means "wood" or "tree" people. Legends tell how their creator, Fumeripits, carved their first ancestors from trees, which he then drummed into life, standing back to watch them dance. The Asmat were to achieve world fame. Their art, whose most enduring tradition is elaborate woodcarvings, was to be recognized as one of the most powerful in the world. In 1961, Michael Rockefeller, son of the late America Vice-President, disappeared off their coast and was never found. The Metropolitan Museum has an outstanding collection of Asmat art, the majority of which was collected in 1961 by Michael C. Rockefeller.

Asmat body masks are full-length costumes made of plaited cordage composed of rattan, bark, and sago leaf fiber. The body masks are usually painted with red and white pigment, decorated with carved facial features, and given skirts made of sago leaves. The end result depicts an otherworldly being, which appears only for special funerary ceremonies, known as jipae. For a mask ceremony, the village creates body masks. Once the masks were made, dancers donned the masks and became "spirits" of ancestors, dancing into the evening and night. In the morning, the spirits led a single-file procession through the village, viewing all the changes that had happened since the last ceremony, years prior, and since their death. They also call it "Baju Setan" (Ghost Armor). During a "Jipae" ceremony, the close relative of the deceased may wear it to symbolize the spirit or ghost of the dead and parades through the village while the children and women throw rocks presenting the act of the chasing and sending the ghost to the spirit world."

"Asmat bark cloth framed on the walls, and a variety of large food hooks described above."

Food Hook to store food inside Sepik house.
This photo certainly explains how the food hooks were used. Very practical to keep out bugs, animals & small children.

"Different masks from differemt areas of PNG."

Dani Man
"A lifesize dani man in full regalia, phallocrypt, stone axe, head gear and all!"

"A great Palembei finial seen on the left of photo here as a tilted sculpture:
Among the finest traditional art forms of the Sepik region are the finials and other decorations that grace the roof line immediately above the gable at each end of the men's ceremonial house. Viewed from the ground the most visible figure is that of an eagle above a female figure. The bird soaring aloft often with outspread wings can be seen at the peak on both ends. This ornamentation can be seen throughout the middle Sepik region, and in each case reflects the particular carving style of the village. The meaning behind the iconography of all roof finials is common to all with variations. This version was told by senior master carver Simon Gambro Marmos from Tambanum village.

Long ago there was a woman who lived on a load anchor in the middle of the Sepik River. She thought she was about to give birth to a child but instead she laid three eggs. Two eggs became eagles and the other a crocodile who dove into the water. The two eagles caught men and ate human flesh. The crocodile stayed under the water and watched this happen, then went up and killed the two eagles. The human ancestors saw this and then built the haus tambaran with the finial figures shaped as eagles with crocodile tails. The woman is always present as the mother of the eagle and the crocodile.

In front, on floor, hand carved out-of-one-tree-trunk life-size crocodile from Timor, and above on the bed from Timor as well, a long hand carved sculpture of an asmat canoe full of warriors rowing towards the enemy and battle. In front on left is a headrest in the shape of a mythical animal with lots of colored carvings from the sepik region."

"A traditional Timor bed with 4 short hand carved posters, bed that comes apart and is easily reassembled: 11 pieces hand carved to fit into each other beautifully like a puzzle form it. Each plank of the bed is hand carved with geometric figures, stylized animals and people and is made of a large solid tree trunk. Although easily taken apart, the bed is very heavy as a whole! Sometimes 2 people are needed to lift each of the 11 planks. There is a nice oil from an artist from Bali that paints for the big hotels there, on back wall, and on right, some boat prows from the Sepik hang on the wall as well, crocodile sculptures that came from old canoes and were cut for posterity when the canoes rotted and were discarded."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 23:31 ]

More Colorful components of the collection

"Here is a skirt worn by females in Trobriands on back wall. Traditional Banana Leaf Layered Skirt with natural colored pigments added, extremely consuming making these skirts as the banana leaves are shredded to threads and there are quite a few levels (as seen on the other people of melanesia photos you placed in the other tiki area) http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=14568&forum=6&14

In very front, statue from palembei: bride wearing bridal cap again

"A framed oil of a Huli man, a warrior from the highlands in warrior's gear. Next is an asmat statue and a handpainted table that I {Dominique} painted with designs reminiscent of the Huichol indians' art. It is not from far away!"

"A variety of colored items, mostly things I {Dominique} handpainted. Parts of couches handcarved in Java can be seen. Bottom left, a portion of a borneo baby carrier all done in beads. In back, some baskets woven in Bali .

"A great Timor door all handcarved in background. A lintel with open carving sitting in a canoe from the sepik river and a framed oil painting: the fisherman and his wife with matching frame handpainted as well. The artist that created this piece is from Port Moresby and his name is John Danger. I love that name and since PNG can be a dangerous place at times, it seems appropriate! A kina shell necklace or 1/2 moon mother of pearl piece hangs in the boat and there is also a nice mask from the sepik sitting next to the frame."

"Rare tumbuan, has been sold. A beautiful full size rattan costume with all sorts of paraphenelia attached that was once used in celebrations, from the sepik region as well."

"Few masks are worn directly over the face, which explains the lack of holes for eyes. Some are fastened onto a large cone-shaped wicker framework for a dance costume called a tumbuan. Raffia is knotted into the bottom hoop for skirting and flowers, fruit and leaves added on for color and power at the time of the ceremony. Other masks are made only for display, most often in the men's Haus, to attract powerful and useful spirits. The individual elements of the masks are complex, they often refer directly or indirectly to ancestor or clan spirits and totems such as pig, cassowary (muruk), crocodile (pukpuk), eagle (taragau), or a water and bush bird (saun). There are many different types of masks for different purposes. Short nosed wickerwork masks, such as this one, represent females but they are rarer. The male masks-costumes are worn with skirts to the knee, while the female skirts stop at the ankle. They represent the face of a supernatural being, a totemic clan ancestor, and are affixed, for the initiation dance of boys, to the woven body shroud called "tumbuan" (which in turn represents a spirit from the era of the creation). Any mask used in such ceremonies was closely associated with the supernatural because initiation involved, amongst other things, communion with the clan spirits. The masks represent the spirits of totemic names. Names are very sacred in PNG. No one actually says anyone's real name, including their own, for fear of drawing the attention of bad spirits or sorcerers. During initiations, the elder who wears the mask-costume becomes a spirit teacher who may say the important totemic names without evoking personal risk. He tells and calls out names for use in magic, for healing and for other spiritual uses. These names number in the thousands and only powerful men have this knowledge. Missionaries gave women catholic names but their real name remains a secret they will not divulge: they refuse to tell it to anyone in their own language as that would give other people power and control over them. If a village or clan has a lot of bad luck, the whole group may change their names and buy the rights to use masks from another clan in a different village in an attempt to fool the bad spirits or sorcerers. The resulting masks usually display characteristics of both groups. Each Sepik River village otherwise is independent and has a distinctive style of art. No two masks can ever be exactly the same, even in the same village. Each is crafted by a different artist, representing a different ancestor or spirit, reflects that artist individual flair and is therefore unique. As a matter of fact, copying is forbidden and sentenced by local law unless there is a formal agreement between the parties involved.

Masks and Statues of Papua New Guinea’s cultures serve a variety of spiritual, cultural and decorative purposes. Most of the masks found in PNG are from the Sepik region, where the production and use of masks is an important part of traditional culture. Ancestral masks represent deceased clan ancestors, totemic creatures that assist the tribe by interceding on a high plane to provide food, prevent and cure illness, while spirit masks embody tribal spirits who inhabit the surrounding jungle, & may come to the help of the tribe to counterattack sorcery spells meant to arm them.

Ancestral and spirit masks are not designed to be "worn" but are hung in men's houses, spirit houses and other locations of importance. Gable masks (usually woven from cane) are mounted on house gables to protect the occupants from the feared marauding spirits.

It is interesting to note that if a mask or any other object, is carved with gnashing teeth or a protruding tongue it is not intended so much as an erotic object but meant to ward off evil spirits."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 23:17 ]

Looks like they got some really nice stuff. Pitty it is on the other side of the world...

Would love to see more pics of what else is there.

I want.

Hey Liz, definitely a great find! I will have to travel down there one of these days.

It is especially cool to see stuff from the Dani and the Trobiands, as I had to write tons about them this semester. Very cool people...I would have liked being a Trobriand Islander before the missionaries and British got there, they are very "free spirited"! And then you have the Dani men with the penis gourds...gotta be careful around them, could poke out an eye.
Later :tiki:
Jason

On 2005-05-10 18:53, hewey wrote:
Looks like they got some really nice stuff. Pitty it is on the other side of the world...

Would love to see more pics of what else is there.

Hewey... its ironic that its on "the other side of the world" to you... because some of the pictured items look as if they originated in your neck of the woods... in the Sepik river region of Papua New Guinea.

Boooyyyy, can't wait to go back down! Gotta start the tradin biz back up again!

Hewey and others wanting to see more, ask and you shall receive. Just got these pics from Dominique today. Her own narrations on the pieces are included.

"Door from Timor house"

"Next to the furniture on right is a large head from timor carved out of palm"

"bench from Timor"

"bench from Timor with face and totem pole from bali handcarved in back, silver crab from java"

Enjoy

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:22 ]

Post deleted due to discontinuation of regular store hours.
Visitation to the store is now by appointment only. Please do call to arrange a time.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2006-03-29 13:29 ]

More pictures

Ancestor Face

Overhead view of "Oceania,etc."

Mask from Bali

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 00:37 ]

WOW! Great pictures I dream of Tiki!

I've got a hankering for a PNG mask, alas, I'll have to make a trip to that shop at some point I suppose.

Mucho mahaloz!

First topic of the day: weapons and tools

"All from Irian jaya( referring to the above photo. From left to right, the tool with stone and a yellow strip (the yellow tone come from dried out dendrobium orchids which stems are yellow when dried) is used by women to chop one of their fingers off when a male member of their family has died, husband or son. I have seen women with only a few fingers left. The stones are sometimes 300 years old and were passed on from generation to the next as valuables as stones are hard to come by in Irian jaya and were obtained mostly by trade.

Dani women are as tough as tough can be. When they chop their finger off with the stone, they first hit their elbow hard to divert the pain. Unbelievable the pain they can take!

The next 3 weapons(2 shown with sheath, one without)are rare cassowary bone daggers from the femur of a large cassowary bird, hunted for food, for its feathers which are on many masks from the area and for its bones used as weapons when shaped in a point. The cassowary is a dangerous and evil tempered bird the size of an ostrich. It can disembowel a man in one kick of its powerful claws. All weapons are resting on a woven asmat bag from the region, with designs produced with natural pigments. Fascinating culture!"

"This is another tool, a stone axe from there as well."

"A very old sword from the dutch occupation of Sumatra. I believe it is 150 yrs or more."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 23:55 ]

Next topic: Mask, Jewelry/adornments and armory

"This is a necklace made out of boar tusks that was once worn in a singsing festival and the one below as well,which is adorned with cassowary feathers all around and which tusks are held by a fiber cloth, called Tapa: actual pounded-into-a-fabric- bark. Statue is from Timor."

"This is an unusual Sepik mask , the only one i ever found with yellow color."

"This is a rare Dani armor to protect warrior in battle. In 25 years, I've never found another one like it, full of cuscus skulls and fur, bark cloth underlining, tusks, fiber string decorations and weaving on the sides. I just sold it but i thought i should share it, it is so beautiful and unusual. The body is made of thousands of little nassa shells worked into the bark underlining."

"These above are body armors from Sulawesi east of Borneo, entirely made of bone plaques on a woven fiber backing, used by the people of Toraja during battle."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 23:52 ]

What great photos.
Its so nice to see a caption along with them for those of use that dont know much.

Thanks for sharing.

Sorcerers' Bags and other adornments!

"These are sorcerers' bags full of magic spells I found in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. I sold all of them but one that i just listed on ebay. There is everything on them from skulls and bones, tusks, dried penis, fur and feathers and carvings. I find them very interesting."

"This one had carvings and a chicken feather handle."

"How about this one? Simple but yet elegant! Handle of little shells and a body of chicken bones on a bilum netting."

"On this Asmat ceremonial boat below used during boys' circumcision, rests a bilum bag from Irian Jaya with decorations of cuscus skulls hanging all over as well as another weapon with cassowary femur bone within the sheath."

Better pic of Irian Jaya bilum bag

"Above is a rare necklace from the highlands again made entirely of little cuscus skulls. I put it on an Asmat carving."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:33 ]

Canoes


"This is a large canoe we brought back from the sepik.I pointed to it and asked if i could buy it and you never saw people pulling something out of the water so fast. By the time i got my camera out, they had grabbed 3 children and fish from it and eased it to shore. It was so funny! The whole village came to view the scene.

In the boat is a open carving that came from the top of a man's house from the Sepik region among other stuff i thru in there."

Crocodile canoe
"A section of an entire 10 feet canoe that we collected on the Sepik. Has been sold as well but a beautiful piece. The entire boat was full of carvings in and out."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 00:04 ]

"Below is a set of stairs, 8 in total that were about 7 feet tall. The stairs has been sold as well but the story board carving all along is beautiful. Next to is is the prow of a full crocodile canoe." (See above post for more detail)

This is worn by the chief on his head during singsings below, woven fiber, natural pigments, boar tusks, cassowary feathers, nassa and cowrie shells. Again great headgear for a night on the town.

"...as well as accessories of pig teeth below"

"...and this wonderful necklace with an ancestor's head for protection."

"Now a final treat for all tiki lovers, a rare poster bed from Timor. Completely handcarved throughout. Hard to see it as we use it for a display in my daughter's store that sells accessories but it is gorgeous. Came with a straw roof that we could not bring back. Used outside for timor naps or inside for florida naps! Only a portion is seen here. Hard to photograph the whole thing."

"...and in the center of the bed is what all tiki fans must have, hah, hah, a tiki bar all handcarved with totem columns and a straw roof, indeed a miniature of the bed."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:45 ]

"Below is a rare Bride's headgear Ambusap head ornement from the Sepik known as a bridal cap. The same headdress can also be worn by men in the course of certain rituals. In that context, disguised as a bride, they represent an ancestress.

It is the most significant piece of personal adornment worn by the Iatmul people, Lower Sepik River region, Papua New Guinea. Consisting of a woven natural bark fiber veil studded with both nassa and cowry shells, such headdress were once painstakingly decorated for countless hours, often with added attachments of pearl shell and bird's feathers. Often at the base of the veil is a skillfully shaped woven crocodile head. Such pieces, worn by a bride when she first entered the Men's House, are intricate and extremely rare."

"Below is a mother's backpack baby carrier from the Kayan people of Central Borneo, used to carry her baby in the fields, the motifs are meant to repel evil spirits and protect the child as well as hanging talismanic decorations. The anthropomorphic figure in the center of the beaded panel suggests that this carrier was used by a family of prominent genealogy. Woven rattan backing, wood seat, plaited shoulder straps, various beads, shells, and bells for adornment and empowerment."

"This is a fun Asmat piece that looks like 2 boxers! There are no boxers in Irian Jaya but these fighting tribal men imply such! I like that piece, it is unusual!"

A different look, hand painted pillows, Balinese signed paintings are used within. Not as primitive as the rest!

This glass case below has all sorts of artifacts from Irian jaya in it including a woven mask to be used in the next movie of Halloween the 13th! :lol:

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:44 ]

Today's topic: Weavings

"Yam Masks shown above come from Papua New Guinea. These hand woven masks are ancestral spirit images used to decorate, consecrate, and celebrate the ancestors at the yam harvest festival. Ceremonial yams grow up to 12 feet long. A man's status is judged by his ability to grow the biggest yams. During the festival, the yams are decorated with masks, flowers, fruit, and leaves until they resemble men at the last stage of initiation and are put on display in the village. These yam 'men' are believed to be present as living beings capable of hearing and seeing. A man does not keep his yams but exchanges them with his traditional exchange partner. The partner with the biggest yams is seen to have the most power. Men make the basketry masks they put on the yams and paint them with clay pigments and natural paints."

Closeups of Asmat matting
"I have rarely located asmat weavings. These 3 mats above are beautiful examples of this art, all handwoven and painted with natural pigments and wonderful primitive designs."

"Another interesting woven bag I found in PNG above. This is a close up. We believe it is woven out of pandarus leaves but not 100% sure."

"Above again, a great pattern from Borneo. These are used as traditional gathering bags."

"Only made by one family of one village in Bali, these woven baskets each have great motifs woven out of palm. Styles are very different everywhere on each island. It is very interesting."

"Last but not least, the traditional cock fighting storage basket used all over Java and Bali among other places to store fighting roosters before events. These roosters are armed with spurs for defense, often painted (the roosters that is) in bright colors such as blue and hot pink for effect!"

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:34 ]

Penis sheaths & phallocrypts.

"Above is an old penis sheath or horim from the highlands made of a gourd piece with nassa shell as a border glued on with sap and mud."

"Another fiber one woven in the sepik region and adorned with a face and cassowary feathers."

"A common Dani one for everyday just made out of a gourd."

"This is yet another style, made out of handcarved wood. A must in any walk-in closet of the modern man!" :lol:

"And the best of the batch, the Penis cover mask. In the right corner, alas not in full, a penis cover with an ancestor's face which is not fully showing & handcarved bat face turned upright to bite the ancestor's chin. Handwoven twine as decorations. In front, a laying woven phallocrypt."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:31 ]

Musical Instruments

"An interesting item only found in the Trobriands and New Ireland above: a shark rattle. It is said that all you need to catch a mako is a coconut-shell rattle, a few choice songs and a dugout canoe. Shark callers are fishermen of a different kind. They have to be male. They cannot eat wild pig or crayfish, nor accept any food from the hand of a fertile woman for 24 hours before the excursion. They must take care not to step on any excrement lying on the beach. And they cannot have sex. The shark is a wily animal and will smell you have been up to no good.

The community believes that the spirits of the ancestors reside in the shark body, especially the mako shark. And it was calling their ancestors that caused the shark to come.

To awaken the spirits, the caller anoints himself and his canoe with secret herbs. Then he paddles out to the reef and symbolically spears the coral to arouse the spirit of Moro - the shark god. This done, he takes out a larung, a rattle fashioned out of bamboo and coconut shells, and begins shaking it in the sea which in fact create vibrations that attract sharks. Finally, he chants the age-old songs of the shark. If the shark answers the call, the hunter entices it to the side of his canoe and, softly stroking it, slips a loop of vine over its head. Then he clubs it to death.

"A rare water drum or mud drum above from the sepik river. The whole drum is hollow, dug and handcarved out of a whole tree trunk. These pieces are scarce which makes them even more interesting but you cannot play them alas unless you have a mud hole yourself. I was attending a singsing in a remote village on the Sepik when i heard this incredibly loud bang, i thought we were attacked with, at least, bombs or missiles, all the way out there in the jungle. It was only the sounds of an harmless mud drum being used to announce the singsing! It would have woken up the dead! Drums, mostly, are made with a tympanum or in the form of a slit gong. This type of drum shown above, and harder to find, is open-ended and is pushed up and down into a water or mud hole to create a loud terrifying sound."

"Water has had surprising prominence in the musical world. It has served as a tool, as inspiration, and even as a performing venue. Water Drums exist in various cultures. The native populations of the Americas constructed a drum within a drum, with the inner instrument being filled with various amounts of water to affect the timbre of the sound. In some areas in Africa and New Guinea, hollow gourds were placed in larger vessels and struck as well."

"Above, before cleaning when we opened the container. Below, after a little dusting."

"Above: one crocodile garamut, the size of an alligator, and a smaller one in front.

Slit gong drums known as garamuts are made of hollowed logs or tree trunks slit longitudinally along one side and beaten with sticks. Very large garamuts (up to 6 feet long) were used to summon people to war during head-hunting days, meetings, to pass messages to nearby villages, and to perform rituals. Medium-sized and smaller garamut drums are portable and can accompany performers to sing sings and cultural shows. The garamut as a means or form of non-verbal communication also made it possible for people to interpret certain messages being transmitted and also the interpretations of the sounds, codes and the different kinds of patterns of beats being performed or employed thus only well-skilled people handle the Garamut. Garamuts are kept in ceremonial houses and only men are allowed to play them. Garamuts are considered to have a spirit and they have names. They are powerful like masks and figures. They can kill people or make them sick. A garamut may take on other forms and walk at night. Garamuts are used in initiation ceremonies."

"Other examples of garamut above. Great for a tiki party on the beach if you are strong enough to lift it, sometimes it takes 3 men to carry one!"

Mythology of the garamut:
"[i]After a narrow escape from a ghost, Moon and her sickly son, Sun, went to live with her sister, Yirkaba. Yirkaba cured Sun and made him into a strong man.

Sun carved slit-gong drums (garamut) from trees near the village, but none of them had a good sound. One night, Yirkaba changed herself into a tree and sent a leaf to tell Moon. Moon told Sun to hollow out a garamut from that tree.

Sun cut a beautiful garamut from the tree. They named it Kabribuk, decorated it and brought it into the men's house in the village. It had a wonderful sound that carried very far. The splinters left from the drum became Yipwons. They lived as Sun's children, but stayed hidden in the men's house. One of Sun's relatives heard the drum, so he traveled to visit, but Sun was out hunting. The man went into the men's house to wait. The Yipwons tricked him and speared him as he looked into the garamut. He ran outside, but the Yipwons followed and killed him. They drank his blood and cut him to pieces.

Moon was in a tree nearby picking leaves. She heard the noise and turned to see what was happening. The Yipwons realized they had been caught. They ran back into the men's house, stood against the wall and stretched up trying to look inconspicuous, stiff with fright. This is how they look today.

When Sun returned and saw his dead relative, he was very angry. He decided to leave. The people returned, but too late to change his mind. He left them the Yipwon figures to bring magic spells for hunting and war. Then he climbed into the heavens, leaving the people in sadness.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:29 ]

Musical Instruments Part 2

"Here are examples of kundu drums with original snake skins. (Top Photo) the 3 above are kundu drums from East Papua New guinea, Sepik region. (Second photo) Asmat Drum(West Papua or Irian Jaya)with intense carvings and men figures on the handles, white wash color. Same island, different region, very different style."

"Above a very old finger drum from the Trobriands, without snake skin alas that was confiscated at customs or stolen along the way we assume. This happens a lot not to include breakage! We often lose entire containers of rare pottery among other things! Fun to search for but not always fun to open! I am told Trobriand drums, to experts, are the best sounding finger drums in the world."

"Here is a rare instrument that originated in India. I believe the style was imported to Bali a long long time ago and adopted in only one village of the island and modified. I bought the last 2 they had a while back and sold them shortly after. They do not play them anymore over there. The children have no more interest in such customs. Alas, the old ways will be lost!

Some in India call similar instruments a Sarangi.The Sarangi has no frets or fingerboard. It has four main strings that lay over the sympathetic strings. The bow is held palm upwards. It is drawn across the main strings, just above the bridge. The fingers of the left hand note the strings. This is done by pressing and sliding the bottom of the fingernail against the side of the string. Players often use talcum powder on their palms to facilitate the gliding of the hand up and down the neck. The gliding of your nails along the strings creates the sound characteristic of Hindustani music."

"Above is an instrument from Java used in gamelan orchestras, 5 feet long."

"Behind the jipae straw full body costume of the asmat, to the right of it and by the library piece, is the tallest asmat drum we ever found, 6 ft tall for the giants among us!"

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:20 ]

Minor adjustment to the thread.

Narration and some mythology have been added to 2 of the 3 photo posts on page one. Dominique quickly noticed that descriptions were very much welcome by the TC ohana and wants to do her best accomidate.

You're killing me here Dream. I especially like the croc carving. I'd like to try carving one.
I would love to be able to buy some of this stuff, but I'm on the west side.

These images are first rate as well. I've been going back to this thread twice a day to check for any thing new or reread the notes. Thanks Dream

Timor benches, statues & furniture

"Here is furniture from Timor that we imported into Bali and it was now getting loaded to go into the container to Surabaya, Java and then via USA."

"I love their ways of using the wood, often carving from a root and taking advantage of its shape."

"I also love their stylistic designs incorporating animals such as geckos within the geometrics. Geckos are good luck so are often seen."

"All Timor furnishings are one of a kind and all are intricately handcarved. A lot of it is meant for outside at the entrance of villages and such and to decorate front of houses such as some of the pieces here."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:06 ]

hey Dream, my wife and i are driving down to Key Largo in June (11-15) to do some diving; if we have time on the way back we'll try to stop at this place; looks pretty incredible. we are also stopping at Stoneage Antiques in Miami; ever been there?

** Jewelry & other small objects**

"Here is of old Borneo handmade-beads jewelry. Everything else is from the Trobriands. All sorts of great details in ebony, kwila and rosewood carvings with inserts of mother of pearl, of statues, bowls, fish, locusts. All the things they see everyday as they have no contact with the outside world or so little."

"(borneo jewlery trobriands items is the name of it) You can see a handcarved yam house. They are built high up to avoid the great tides. I will add a pics of one here"

"Trobriand stylized fish. In front, the very rare manus snails from manus island. Bright green snails only found there."

"Other Trobriand carvings of grasshoppers and a large standing fish."

Painted bowls case

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:13 ]

Paintings from Bali
"These are very good artists from Bali that paint on oil and acrylics for paintings that I [Dominique] commission. They are great.

"He has a very vivid colorful style that reminds me of Gauguin. Quite different from the traditional balinese type that he broke away from."

"I had the one artist paint the laying woman in 4 different colors of sarongs to fit people's decors downhere. I love his work."

"I, Dominique, found this artist by accident. One of his paintings was hanging in a tiki style bar in Bali. I fell in love with the laying woman in the sarong so I tried to contact him, which took a week, and i finally met him. He is married to an australian girl and they both live in Bali and have a little boy. I commissioned him to paint 8 of those paintings, as I wanted a set for myself with 4 different sarong colors to display on the wall together, and a set to sell, originally. He paints more for me upon request, either paintings such as these or large flowers hibiscus, orchids and such. He has a wonderful style."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-20 23:41 ]

Palama Tiki, I have yet to go to StoneAge antiques, but I hear its REALLY wonderful. Local theaters will sometimes rent specific props from them for period plays. Yes, it is worth the pilgramage. Take pictures for me!

More traditional Balinese painting
I suggested to Dominique that this may be a great opportunity to demonstrate how these two artist have departed from what is associated with the Balinese style. A bit of education for the rest of us.

"Here is a list of the traditional Balinese styles below and we carry all of them:"

Ubud Style

" Influenced by the Western use of perspective and everyday-life subject matter, the Ubud style is one of the most 'Expressionists' of all the Balinese schools. Despite this, Ubud art still retains many traditional features including attention to detail and very stylized characters."

Keliki Style

"Keliki art is very similar to the Old Batuan Style with the one exception being size; Keliki paintings measures 20cm by 15cm.They contain scenes of mythical and Ramayana characters engaged in battle, good versus evil, on sinister backgrounds. Keliki artists also follow the tradition of the old Wayang artists in that they seldom sign their work."

Pengosekan Style

"From this village, on the outskirts of Ubud, a new style sprang up during the 60's that concentrated on just a few natural components like; birds, insects, butterflies and plants. These paintings tend to be more realistic and less expressive than the Ubud style."

Batuan Style

"Strongly Wayang based, this style involves hundreds of intricately painted representations of Balinese life filling every available nook and cranny of the canvas. Batuan artists' subject matters includes everything from traditional village activities to camera-toting tourists or expressions of the darker supernatural side of life, with people depicted as extremely vulnerable to the spirits and powers of nature."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-03-22 21:08 ]

Dreamer, what a FANTASTIC Thread. Its one thing to report a neat store, but to return wirh narrated pictures of Beautiful works is just Great. Don't stop now, I've just about got the droolng under control.
HappyHappyHappy

Story board (back wall)
"Storyboards are a tradition of the Kambot area in the lower Sepik. A storyboard is a carved wooden board which literally tells a story. Storyboards are displayed in Haus Tambarans as decorations. Along the Keram River, spirits and ancestors were depicted traditionally on sago spathe or bark, as paintings in a form of story book. However, because bark is easily broken and easily rubbed of, the Kambot people shifted, during the 1960’s, to carving the tales of their life and ancestors on wood, in order to produce a more durable form of artwork. It resulted in more than a shift from bark paintings to carved wooden boards, as seen here, and the new tradition stuck. Whereas bark paintings were wholly spirits boards, the wooden boards of today are simply depictions of everyday village life, often humorous, with spirit figures being shown very occasionally on the men's house gables. Scenes represent fishing, hunting, all sorts of animals such as cuscus, cassowary, pig, snake hiding within the shrubbery, women preparing sago flour in front of the houses and general everyday life. These are set against a backdrop of the village structures and surrounding jungle habitat. Unlike the older forms of carving they are only decorative and appear to have no special religious significance. The most prized ones are very large, have been carved by the best sculptors in the village and their carving is intricate, detailed and remarquable since tools used are still very primitive. These are almost always well made, again not withstanding the relatively crude implements used. The new wood art form served to increase the durability, and longevity of the stories so told. The pigments used are clay, charcoal, and lime. The brown storyboard is finished with a natural wax from the milk of the kapiak tree while the details are picked out by white lime and ochres. Every storyboard is unique: no two are the same as they each tell different stories with different characters and settings."

"On the right and left of the story board are textiles from Sumba with inserts of nassa shells: Sumba's elaborate textile tradition finds its most colorful expression along the island's east coast where weavers combine animal and plant motifs with geometric patterns and ethnographic symbolism. What to the western eye is artistic, even fanciful, for the Sumbanese forms the basis of a complicated literacy that is the foundation of their culture. The largest event any Sumbanese is likely to see will be the funeral of his or her raja; the body, having been wrapped in hundreds of textiles and kept through several years of preparations, is buried in an elaborate ceremony. The east of Sumba supports barely a third of the island's population but has the most richly developed textile tradition. In full traditional dress men wear two large blanket-size hinggi, one as a hip cloth, one as a sash. Women wear a tubular lau sarong and a hawala irung sash. Textiles in Sumba have always functioned both as an indication of status and a means of ritual exchange. Colors and motifs worn still denote an individual's position in the island's complex social hierarchy; the number of pieces owned remain a measure of personal wealth. Textiles form part of the ceremonial exchange of gifts between the families of a bride and groom. For funerals, dozens of cloths are interred with the corpse and many more given to and by the hundreds of guests that attend the ceremony. The motifs in a cloth may be geometric, zoomorphic, floral, trade-inspired or ethnographic and the textiles are handwoven out of spun cotton and colored with natural pigments, a few have inserts of shells such as these."

Closeup of textile

"Here is a close up of one so people can see the inserts of nassa shells. It is hanging on a textile bar all handcarved in Lombok."

Description below refers to photo on top of post
"In front, there are 3 asmat drums from Irian jaya: The Asmat's wood carvings and other artifacts are critical in Asmat rituals aimed at correcting imbalances. Their carvings make the unseen visible and allow the Asmat to make direct contact with their ancestors, who grant protection to the living. Their shields, bis poles and many other objects are named for ancestors and treated as powerful manifestations of these spirits. Elaborate rituals and ceremonies surround their activation and use. The magic of these rituals and social ceremonies are an important part of Asmat life, giving them a sense of control over their lives and binding the Asmat society together. Asmat designs are bold and powerful because they represent powerful forces involved in their rituals. Asmat symbols are strongly connected with headhunting and cannibalism. Besides the figures and features of their ancestors, the Asmat also have symbols to represent other creatures which are either carnivorous like the praying mantis, or fruit-eaters. This is because the Asmat associate fruit with the human head. Thus to take a head is to eat the fruits of a tree, and vice versa. Any dark-coloured, fruit-eating animal is therefore a symbolic headhunter: the flying fox, the black king cockatoo, the cuscus or opossum, the hornbill, a special heron and the sea pelican. The tusks of a boar are also a powerful symbol as pig-hunting is equivalent in honour as headhunting. "

" In the second photo is an Asmat shield that was used in battle and an ancestor is represented on top and meant to protect the bearer. Every asmat male child is taught the basic skills for handling wood, such as felling a tree, building a house or constructing canoes, paddles and sago pounders. However, for special objects with ritual meaning and uses, the Asmat call upon the Master Carver or "wow-ipits" ("wow" refers to carving, "ipits" is the word for man). Like the Great Woodcarver Fumer-ipit who created life from wood, the wow-ipits have a similar supernatural life-giving aura. Other villagers who commission carvings must keep the wow-ipit in good spirits to encourage the ancestral spirits to enter his work. This means they must feed the carver and his family for the duration of the work. And feed them well, including delicacies such as sago worms which are a fat grub and tobacco. Nowadays, payment may include a knife, fishing line or an old pair of pants. But carvers lead lives very similar to if not poorer than other villagers. Their main reward is in the prestige they gain for their work. Each Asmat village supports a group of such carvers. A carver may specialise in a particular object, and each has his own style. Because the commissioning of such work usually begins with the cutting of a sago tree and ends with the collection of the sago grubs that grow in it, which takes six weeks, most ritual carvings are completed within this timespan. During this time, though, the carvers may work only when they feel like it. To carve wood, the Asmat used bone and shell. To do the details, they may use the teeth of a particular type of fish or nails salvaged from driftwood. Metals tools are now more common.

In front is a large totem pole from Timor which only a part can be seen, 8 ft tall, and that was once planted at the entrance of a village to warn off evil spirits."

"On back wall hang 3 very rare geringsing sacred cloths: The most prized ikat in Indonesia is the spectacular geringsing textile produced by the double-ikat method in the indigenous Bali Aga village of Tenganan Pegeringsingan, an incredibly time demanding process that is known to only a handful of weavers around the world." (Rest of narration moved to next post to leave room for rest of items in photo.)

"Under the geringsing are 2 pots: Rare traditional terracotta pottery from remote East Timor Island, Indonesia, is one of a kind, completely handcrafted (centuries old process) and adorned with motifs in relief combined with geometrical designs reminiscent of American Indian Pottery usually of men or animals, gecko for example, & hand-painted with local inhancing natural color pigments. It came from the Vermasse region of Timor and was used by the natives of Manatuto to boil water on an outside fire in order to make it ready for human consumption (water borne diseases are a major problem in East Timor, the traditional solution is still to boil the water to make it safe). These pots, which were made with a fine red clay mix combined with river sand & rice husk ash sieved thru a fly screen and formed by hand, still bear some charcoal black marks on the outside from the burns of bonfires made from cow manure, burns which add to the charm and authenticity. The making of strong, sturdy and elegant terracotta pottery was a great part of Timorese culture for many centuries, but ceramic-making facilities as well as ceramics themselves were destroyed during the violence in 1999 (which put a stop to the creation of such wonderful pieces) and most haven’t been reconstructed yet and good pieces of terracotta are much harder to find today as a result.

In front of the pots lays a rare Asmat pillow or headrest all handcarved and made out of mangrove root.

On the left are a few carvings from Timor, very old, and on the extreme right a 5 feet asmat statue of a warrior holding the skull of his enemy in his hands and behind yet another asmat shield and above it, 2 whitish asmat statues, one of a female and her child and the other of a man holding a miniature canoe called wuramon. The “wuramon” or spirit vessel is a type of sculpture found only in interior Asmat areas. Wuramon or “soul ships” resemble dugout canoes in their general shape but are smaller & non-functional. They are only used in ceremonies where the initiates undergo a ritual death/rebirth. There appear to be two general types of these carvings:

1.   An empty canoe which is used traditionally during initiation, a ceremony that takes place during the “emak cem” feast, where newly circumcised boys straddle the wuramon letting their blood (from circumcision) flow inside.
   

2. A canoe carrying one or many figures. The one figure could be sitting or riding above as an onlooker. The many figures are usually sitting, carved in a row: they are mainly human (spirit passengers that take the names of those who have recently died) but they can also be animal or human-animal, for example.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:36 ]

Geringsing cloth & how it is made

"The most prized ikat in Indonesia is the spectacular geringsing textile produced by the double-ikat method in the indigenous Bali Aga village of Tenganan Pegeringsingan, an incredibly time demanding process that is known to only a handful of weavers around the world: In Balinese, geringsing literally means, “without sickness” & the cloth is said to have magical, protective powers & is frequently part of the traditional costume of the village. These textiles are ritually exchanged to ensure the good health & prosperity of their owner. A single piece of geringsing fabric may take up to ten years to complete & mostly elders still know how to proceed with the dyeing & weaving techniques which are so laborious, difficult & time consuming that the knowledge of such fine art is rapidly being lost. Dyes are all natural as they have been for centuries hence the reds-browns-creams-blues colors used for the making of this rare piece of cloth, found nowhere else in the world except for this tiny Indonesian hamlet. The village of Tenganan, protected up to now from the outside world by its surrounding walls, has maintained its ancient pre-Hindu customs through a strong code of non-fraternization with outsiders: here also, unique ritual offering dances & gladiator battles take place as they have for times immemorial. Double ikat geringsing cloths are very distinct from other ikat cloths in existence & are known for their precision, subtlety & beauty. They are produced by a complex process in which dye-resistant patterns are tied to both the warp (lengthwise) & weft (crosswise) threads before dyeing so that the final pattern appears only after weaving is finished. It is a very laborious task as it involves tying, dying, winding, stringing & weaving the threads of both the weft & the warp to produce the elaborate design. The demanding & time-consuming process was perfected in only three places in the world throughout the centuries: India, Japan, & Indonesia but today, only in the tiny village of Tenganan Pegeringsingan on the island of Bali, can you find such rare & precious textile craftmanship. The exact & highly skilled process, still known to a few elders, ensures that when the fabric is woven, the design will appear precisely & create a magnificently colored figurative ground of great richness & beauty with birds, flowers, animals, dancers, or whatever traditional motif is chosen, in a geometrically stylized perfection. The technique is now a disappearing art as less & less weavers know or are capable of producing such difficult expert work which requires such tedious exactitude. Geringsing cloths are therefore revered & believed to possess magical powers that protect or cure the individual & the community from sickness; they are also indicative of social identity & wealth."

"The tools used below and some of the steps of the process as well"





"Different steps of the geringsing’s production, steps that take months as first. The right color must be obtained among other things over a period of weeks."

"Here is a picture of young girls wearing geringsing during a ceremony."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki on 2005-06-06 18:16 ]

Color!

"It seems some people like color, polynesian designs and such. Here is the section of the store most dedicated to color. We have amazing Sarongs painted by 2 artists from Bali and signed. Each sarong has vivid colors representing only tropical scenes which includes anything from underwater scenes to fields of water lillies, cockatoos and palms and orchids. Each is one of a kind. If anyone want to see any of them, I {Dominique} will be happy to take full photos of the variety. They are so beautiful that, if not worn, they can hang on the wall or be stretched on a stretcher and be used as a painting. You see 2 on this photo, one of water lillies and the other one with fish, these 2 artists have a great sense of color, vivid color that is and are my favorite in all of Bali."

"The rest around is some of the hand painted glass I {Dominique} paint for galleries around me. In the front -right side of the picture, there is a lime box with 4 compartments hand carved in Lombok and meant to keep implements from betel chewing such as nuts, lime powder etc... Also, a small food hook is laying on the chair on the left, chair and couch were hand carved in Java."

"Second picture is a better view of the couch. The rest is my {Dominique's} work, including the cabinet in back. The furniture from Java was influenced by the dutch occupation of parts of Indonesia. During those times, a lot of pieces were commissioned by the invaders to use for themselves during their stay, which streched over more than 2 centuries. As a result the furniture of Java has, to this day, a dutch colonial style with smooth intricate carvings of leaves and flowers running though. Very different from the geometrical maze designs found in Timor. You can also fall upon remains of the dutch occupation, here and there, such as blue and white bowls, grandfather clocks and other typical things that are not expected to be found in the tropics."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 23:40 ]

"Here is a selection of additional Trobriand items and other things""Two beautiful blond bowls piled on top of each other. True refined Trobriands work, carved with shell pieces and other primitive tools and decorated with inserts of mother of pearl."

"Inside this one is a lime container from the Trobriands."

Detail of first bowl

Please note the Dani phallocrypts from Irian Jaya in the second bowl.

"A Trobriand Bowl with doves. As all these pieces are, a beautiful piece by a master carver."

An aside about the lime and the lime container seen above.
"Traditional Lime containers (used by men) from the remote and rarely visited Trobriands Islands (Pacific Northeast of Papua New Guinea) are made of gourds that have been grown locally then dried. The yellow plaiting is stripped from the inside of the seedpod, the brown from the outside. The neck is adorned with fine minute weaved basketwork which fiber strands derive from the banana tree and the round body decorated with miniature intricate time-consuming geometrical or animalistic designs usually hand-etched or burnt in all around the gourd (the band of burnt-in designs is typical of 20th century styles). Great care is taken in the motifs and their detail which represent the owner’s status. Closing the receptacle is a stopper which center is made out of tightly wound banana leaf capped with a boar tusk, also a sign of power. Coconuts with wooden stoppers were also used. The powdered mineral lime is chewed with betel nut. Special lime pots and spatulas were made from the skulls and bones of deceased relatives as well and increased the bearer’s protection from evil.

Gourds such as this one are often called Kambang in Malay, a dialect Melayu Brunei. This is a unique piece and a collector item. A long stick is used to get the lime out of the gourd. The decorated gourd and stick tell something about a man’s status therefore a laborious effort is made to create an intricate and rich looking design. Each gourd is thus a one of a kind detailed little masterpiece.

A traditional part of a man's personal paraphernalia in New Guinea and the Trobriands was his lime container and the spatula for betel chewing, a custom practiced on social and ritual occasions. Three substances are actually chewed together: the nut of a palm, which has a hot, acrid taste similar to nutmeg; the leaf, bean, or stem of the betel vine, which is a member of the pepper family; and slaked lime made from burned sea shells or coral or from mountain lime and kept in this container while not in use. Once chewed, the mixture becomes a mild stimulant said to reduce hunger, pain, create a sense of well being, and increase a person's capacity for work.

It may improve the breath, but it also colors teeth and saliva bright red. Some studies say it helps prevent tooth decay, but other studies show an increase in mouth cancer. A used wad of betelnut is spit out, not swallowed. For the non-user, this red spittle along left along paths and roads is the worst feature of this widespread habit."

"Lime powder for sale"

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2009-02-21 22:12 ]