30 Masterworks from The Wielgus Collection in The Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University
30 Masterworks from The Wielgus Collection in The Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University
Raymond and Laura Wielgus were consummate collectors. Ray's sharp mind and skilled hands excelled in equal measure. This tandem of skills helped to form and hone his instincts as one of his era's most outstanding connoisseurs of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, who like Saul Stanoff or George Ortiz and the other collectors that I greatly admired in those times, informed us with their individual approaches to excellence. I first met him as a young man growing up in Chicago and always thought of Ray as a generous man, a keen observer of details, and one who appreciated his pieces not only as a collector but as a craftsman and artist used to working intimately with diverse mediums. The Wielgus' deeply pondered and appreciated the pieces they acquired, and the excellence and thoughtfulness of their choices shine throughout their entire collection.
Laura and Raymond Wielgus began their collecting odyssey in 1955, long before finding a permanent home for their hoard of treasures at the Indiana University Art Museum. Virginia Webb, in her review of Affinities of Form: Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, quotes Diane M. Pelrine's observation on the Wielgus', one worth repeating here. “Their aim was to collect objects that were highly regarded not only by Western collectors but also by the people who had made and originally used the pieces. As noted in Pelrine's catalogue, Raymond Wielgus established criteria that he followed when considering an acquisition for his collection'. "First, the work must be outstanding as art irrespective of type or time; second, it must be ethnographically or archaeologically important, and third the work must be 'right'; that is, it be traditional in style and content, the product of the mainstream of a culture."
Indiana University has kindly made a number of images from the Wielgus Collection collection available for our feature. Everything in the collection is so stellar, featuring some of the most artful pieces ranging from an early Dogon figure with raised arms to seminal masterpieces from the Torres Straits, extraordinary statues from the Fly, and lower Sepik rivers in New Guinea, as well as a remarkable Polynesia presence. The sum total reflects a timeless journey into gravitas, high excellence, and delight. We are thrilled to show our audience, and a new generation, just how rewarding a well-curated collection can be for serious students of the arts of traditional peoples. An Indonesian piece that Ray championed is also especially noteworthy. It is a beautiful shrine figure (baku-mau) from Atauro that's arguably the best of its type extant. It's the female half from a pair of figures. The male counterpart figure is stewarded by the Dallas Museum of Art. A sojourn to Bloomington, Indiana, and communing with one's favorite pieces from this marvelous collection, and so much more, is well worth the visit to the University's Art Museum.
— Steven G. Alpert, founder of Art of the Ancestors
1
Commemorative Figure
Kopar
Late 19th – early 20th century
Wood, pigment, and incrustation
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.12
2
Female Figure
Atauro Island
ca. 1900
Wood
Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 82.32
3
Male Figure
Dogon
16th century
Wood
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 87.12
4
Commemorative Figure
Sepik River
Before 1908
Wood, pigment, and fiber
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.11
5
Mask
Torres Strait
19th century
Turtle shell, clamshell, resin, sennit, wood, human hair, and cassowary feathers
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.13
6
Drum
Austral Islands
1800 – 1850
Tamanu wood (Calophyllum inophyllum), sharkskin, and sennit
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 80.5.3
7
Chest Ornament
Rapa Nui, Easter Island
19th century
Wood, obsidian, and bone
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.23
8
Dugong Hunting Charm
Torres Strait
19th century
Wood, stone, sennit, and pigment
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.16
9
Figure for a Sacred Flute
Biwat
1900 – 1920
Wood, shells, boar tusks, human hair, cassowary feathers, fiber, and pigment
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 75.53
10
Male Figure
Rapa Nui, Easter Island
19th – mid 19th century
Wood, obsidian, and bone
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 80.5.1
11
Female Figure
Tongan
18th century
Whale Ivory
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.17
12
Lizard Figure
Rapa Nui, Easter Island
19th century
Wood, bone, and obsidian
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.24
13
Urn in the Form of a Seated Figure
Zapotec
200 BCE–200 CE
Clay
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.51
14
Seated Female Figure
Asmat
Before 1913
Wood, pigment, seeds, and fiber
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.10
15
Toggle in the Form of a Human Figure
Inupiat
Yupik
19th century
Sperm whale ivory
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.37
16
Flywhisk Handle
Maohi Tahitian
Austral Islands
Society Islands
Before 1818
Whale ivory, wood, and sennit
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.22
17
Fish Hook
Māori
18th century
Wood, flax, and human bone
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.20
18
Canoe Prow Ornament
New Georgia Island
Solomon Islands
19th century
Wood, shell, and pigment
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 96.8
19
Mask
Astrolabe Bay
Before 1925
Wood, pigment, and incrustation
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.4
20
Society Figure
Lega
Bwami
First half of the 20th century
Wood, shells, and wax or resin
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.31
21
War Charm
Matankor
19th century
Wood, frigatebird feathers, glass beads, cuscus teeth, cloth, and fiber
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 76.40
22
Male Figure
Kiwai
Before 1912
Wood, pigment, and human hair
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.5
23
Weaving Peg
Māori
18th century
Wood and haliotis shell
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.21
24
Flywhisk Handle
Austral Islands
19th century
Wood, sennit, fiber, and dye
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.9
25
Adze
Wasco
Wishram
Early 19th century
Elk antler, rawhide, steel, and brass
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.38
26
Stilt Step
Enata (Marquesan)
19th century
Wood
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.18
27
Reliquary Figure
Hongwe
Late 19th – early 20th century
Wood and brass
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2010.30
28
Flute
Māori
19th century
Wood and haliotis shell
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 2003.168
29
Vessel in the Form of a Spider Monkey
Veracruz
800 – 900
Clay
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 95.23
30
Labret
Mixtec
1200 – 1521
Gold
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University 78.11.1
All artworks and images presented in this feature are the property of The Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University.
© The Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University