In this ethnographic study of traditional sculpture from Santa Cruz Island, near the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific the late anthropologist William H. Davenport presents a distinctive genre of figure sculpture produced for and used in traditional religious rituals and ceremonies.
The body of the book discusses the history of Santa Cruz Island society since the first Europeans came to the area in 1595, the cultural meanings of its most conspicuous features, and descriptions of the main components of worship, the rituals. The book includes discoveries about the making and use of the figurines, as well as the iconography of the pieces. The latter information is derived from general ethnographic data collected in the course of field research between 1958 and 1976 on Santa Cruz Island and the adjacent islands of the Santa Cruz Group, where Davenport's many close friends included both his informants in the villages and officers of the British Colonial Service.
A dual study of a tradition of so-called tribal art in its context and a study of Santa Cruz Island society, the book includes meticulous descriptions of the sacred objects, currency, dances, and social interactions. Davenport's records of 55 specimens of Santa Cruz sculpture from both private collections and museums—initial acquisition, subsequent ownership, and other detailed physical information—constitute the catalogue section of the book.
An engaging and previously unrecorded transcription of information distilled from local informants of the oral myths, rituals, and ceremonies reveals how Santa Cruz believers distinguished, celebrated, and communicated with their deities.
Davenport's own unique photographs—both black and white and color—illustrate rituals on the island and life as it was lived before independence in 1978. His work here is a record of a culture which is barely now either lived or remembered by the descendants of those who created it, and all figural sculpture discovered in the future must be judged against this corpus of authenticated originals.
Audiences will include anthropologists interested in the tribal arts of Pacific peoples, libraries with Melanesian collections, art historians, contemporary historians interested in the difference between description and comparison, and the special political and economic situation of colonialism.
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About the Author
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, William H. Davenport earned his B.A. degree in anthropology from the University of Hawai'i in 1952, after attending the Art Center School in Los Angeles during 1939-41, and serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He received his Ph.D. degree in ethnography/ethnology from Yale in 1956. He was the author of more than 60 articles in scholarly and popular journals, museum journals, edited volumes, and encyclopedias and book chapters.
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Santa Cruz Island Figure Sculpture and Its Social and Ritual Contexts,
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This review is from: Santa Cruz Island Figure Sculpture and Its Social and Ritual Contexts (Hardcover)
This book is an outstanding classic of its genre. It defines a specific type of sculpture in the Santa Cruz Islands. Identifies all the known examples in museums, private collections etc. Discusses how these statues were traditionally used in early Solomon Islands religion, as well as who collected these sculptures. Its also includes a CD of photos of daily life in the Santa Cruz Islands. This was William Davenports last work before his death and it stands as as testiment to the depth of his research. I would highly recommend it.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The collection of sculpture discussed and pictured in this study comprises all the known specimens of a unique genre of tribal art from a single place, Santa Cruz Island, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean (Figure 1.1). Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
thick circular base, nue series, feather currency, continuous brow ridge, slab feet, fiber fringe, spurs emerging, nose pendant, chin shaped, septum pierced, shell discs, standing male, rounded muzzle, supernatural domain, circular block, dance ring, breech clout, eyes inlaid, head carved, large perforations, shark god, figurative sculpture, dance series, body ornaments, seated male Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Graciosa Bay, Temotu Islet, Santa Cruz Islands, Reef Islands, Solomon Islands, District Commissioner, Melanesian Mission, Temotu Noi, San Cristobal, World War, Bishop Museum, Great Barrier Reef New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
The collection of sculpture discussed and pictured in this study comprises all the known specimens of a unique genre of tribal art from a single place, Santa Cruz Island, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean (Figure 1.1). Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
thick circular base, nue series, feather currency, continuous brow ridge, slab feet, fiber fringe, spurs emerging, nose pendant, chin shaped, septum pierced, shell discs, standing male, rounded muzzle, supernatural domain, circular block, dance ring, breech clout, eyes inlaid, head carved, large perforations, shark god, figurative sculpture, dance series, body ornaments, seated male Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Graciosa Bay, Temotu Islet, Santa Cruz Islands, Reef Islands, Solomon Islands, District Commissioner, Melanesian Mission, Temotu Noi, San Cristobal, World War, Bishop Museum, Great Barrier Reef New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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