Grade Figure – Fernwood – Ambrym, Vanuatu (190 cm)

Oceanic Art. Enormous Grade Figure (Maghe ne Naun or Maghe ne Hivir) from Vanuatu, 190 cm! This monumental Grade Society Figure from Ambrym Island (centrally located in the Vanuatu archipelago), embodies an artistic approach unique to this geographic area and remains in an exceptionally well-preserved condition. The fibrous wood of a fern tree has been carved into this sinuous figure with an impressive presence.

Much of the art of central and northern Vanuatu in the southwest Pacific is associated with grade rituals, a hierarchical series of initiations, each of which confers successively greater religious and political authority during life and in the realm of the dead.

This figure is carved from fern wood, the fibrous trunk of a tree fern composed of aerial roots surrounding a woody core. During the grade rites, grade figures are erected on the dancing ground and serve as temporary abode for the spirits associated with the grade. After the ceremony, the figure, its purpose served, is left on the dancing ground, its supernatural powers waning as it slowly disintegrates.

Provenance: Justin Barthels, former gallery owner from Maastricht (NL)

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