New Georgia Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands
Mid-19th century
Length: 9.6 inches (24.5 cm) Height: 4.25 inches (10.8 cm)
Provenance: Collection of Sir John Everett Millais, London (1829-1896) / Speak Bequest, UK / William Ohly (1883 - 1955), Berkeley Galleries, London and Abbey Museum, Hertfordshire, UK, and thence by descent.
Originating from the New Georgia region of the Western Solomon Islands, presented is an exceedingly rare, and possibly unique 19th century figurative headrest. This remarkable headrest is adorned by a pair of opposing ancestral heads carved in classic form at each end, and supporting the arched pillow are two sets of finely carved frieze panels depicting traditional regional motifs, including a pair of opposing frigate birds portrayed in flight. On the underside of the pillow is an old iron ink inscription “New Caledonia * Speak Bequest” with a collection number 1932 - 468 also inscribed.
The headrest hails from the family estate of one of the most pivotal figures in London’s mid-century art scene; the art dealer, sculptor and philanthropist William Ohly (1883-1955). British-born and German-raised, Ohly was an accomplished sculptor in his own right, as well as painter and printmaker, was an important ethnographic art collector and founder of the renowned Berkeley Galleries in London’s Mayfair in 1942. He also opened the Abbey Art Centre and Museum in Hertfordshire, and both locations were pioneering art hubs of the mid-1900s. Breaking boundaries at the time, he exhibited African and Oceanic artefacts, as well as antiquities alongside works by emerging contemporary artists.
An important one-of-a-kind 19th century Solomon Islands artifact, the likes of which will not come to market again.
INQUIRE HERE
New Georgia Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands
Mid-19th century
Length: 9.6 inches (24.5 cm) Height: 4.25 inches (10.8 cm)
Provenance: Collection of Sir John Everett Millais, London (1829-1896) / Speak Bequest, UK / William Ohly (1883 - 1955), Berkeley Galleries, London and Abbey Museum, Hertfordshire, UK, and thence by descent.
Originating from the New Georgia region of the Western Solomon Islands, presented is an exceedingly rare, and possibly unique 19th century figurative headrest. This remarkable headrest is adorned by a pair of opposing ancestral heads carved in classic form at each end, and supporting the arched pillow are two sets of finely carved frieze panels depicting traditional regional motifs, including a pair of opposing frigate birds portrayed in flight. On the underside of the pillow is an old iron ink inscription “New Caledonia * Speak Bequest” with a collection number 1932 - 468 also inscribed.
The headrest hails from the family estate of one of the most pivotal figures in London’s mid-century art scene; the art dealer, sculptor and philanthropist William Ohly (1883-1955). British-born and German-raised, Ohly was an accomplished sculptor in his own right, as well as painter and printmaker, was an important ethnographic art collector and founder of the renowned Berkeley Galleries in London’s Mayfair in 1942. He also opened the Abbey Art Centre and Museum in Hertfordshire, and both locations were pioneering art hubs of the mid-1900s. Breaking boundaries at the time, he exhibited African and Oceanic artefacts, as well as antiquities alongside works by emerging contemporary artists.
An important one-of-a-kind 19th century Solomon Islands artifact, the likes of which will not come to market again.
INQUIRE HERE
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