• `Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea — exhibition catalogue front cover, 1963. Cream wraps with orange letterpress title lower right: "kunst uit nieuw guinea". Left: black and white photograph of a tall carved wooden ancestor figure (bis pole or similar), with a stylised face, open-work body, and flame-like projections at the crown. Age toning and handling wear throughout.
  • `Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — interior plate. Black and white photograph of catalogue no. 43: a carved wooden ancestor figure, open-work construction with a large rounded head, hollow oval torso, and elongated pendant legs. Dark patinated surface. Photographed against cream ground.
  • Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — interior plate. Two black and white photographs of carved wooden ancestor figures. Left: cat. no. 87, a bird-headed figure leaning forward, heavily textured surface, viewed in profile. Right: cat. no. 38, a frontal standing figure with large rounded head, open-work torso, arms at sides, and splayed feet. Both dark patinated wood on cream ground.
  • Two alt texts: Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — interior plate. Two black and white photographs of carved wooden ancestor figures. Left: cat. no. 87, a bird-headed figure leaning forward, heavily textured surface, viewed in profile. Right: cat. no. 38, a frontal standing figure with large rounded head, open-work torso, arms at sides, and splayed feet. Both dark patinated wood on cream ground.
  • `Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — interior plate. Black and white photograph of catalogue no. 21: a painted bark cloth panel with two vertical columns of bold geometric ornament — repeating rectangular frames enclosing diagonal and triangular forms in dark pigment on pale ground. Cloth shows fold lines and surface wear. New Guinea textile, date unspecified.`
  • `Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — interior plate. Black and white photograph of catalogue no. 12: a tall ceremonial figure or skull pole, heavily adorned. Cylindrical carved wooden body surmounted by a face with shell and fibre ornaments, spiral shell discs at the brow, and a large crown of dark feathers radiating outward. Shell collar, pendant ornaments, and carved lower body with splayed feet. Photographed against pale ground.`
  • `Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, 1963 — Back cover page. Cream paper with handwritten pencil notes upper left reading: "Nieuw Guinea, Sept. nt 2 / — Maprik, kunstst. / — Prices / — 350. 50.60.000 / — 100 · top quality pieces". Below: hand-drawn outline map of New Guinea in blue ink, with regional names inscribed — Panoa, Korewori, Sepik, o Manaam — indicating the Sepik River region and surrounding areas. Colophon at foot: "ontwerp gerda c. van der laan gkf / druk meijer wormerveer".`
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Museum Fodor / Stedelijk Museum

Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea — Museum Fodor / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1963

Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea — Museum Fodor / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1963

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Museum Fodor / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1963
Collection of Peter Kohler, Ascona
Exhibition catalogue
Designed by Gerda C. van der Laan
Softcover, stapled wrappers
19 × 26 cm
24 pp.
Black-and-white photographic plates
Catalogus no. 337

Published for the exhibition Kunst uit Nieuw Guinea, held at Museum Fodor, Amsterdam, 22 May – 30 June 1963. The catalogue presents works from the private collection of Peter Kohler, Ascona, including objects from the Sepik, Yuat, Keram, and Korewori River regions, the Chambri Lakes area, and Manam Island.

A compact exhibition document built from image, region, collection, and sequence. The cover places a single carved figure against a largely empty field, with the title set in ochre lowercase. Inside, the catalogue proceeds through isolated reproductions: masks, sculptural figures, textile fragments, ritual forms, and carved objects held against blank paper.

The design is restrained and sharply staged. A brown vertical band runs through the interior spreads, functioning almost as a filing edge or display strip. Objects are numbered rather than explained at length. The publication turns a private ethnographic collection into a municipal exhibition record: photographed, ordered, and circulated through the Stedelijk/Museum Fodor apparatus.

The back cover carries later handwritten notes and a sketched map-like form in blue ink, marking the object’s secondary life after the exhibition. These additions do not interrupt the catalogue so much as extend its condition: New Guinea becomes image, route, note, price, and retained paper.

Condition: Good. General toning, handling marks, soft creases, edge wear, and light marks to wrappers. Handwritten annotations and blue-ink drawing to rear cover. Stapled binding intact.

A 1960s Dutch exhibition catalogue where Oceanic objects pass through collection, museum, printed sequence, and later use.

Original period item.

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