Tag: ethnological illustration

Artwork for the clarification of the buildup of divers boxes from north Sulawesi, which are made from several plant materials. Inserted are thin wooden strips, which are connected with fibers and covered with partly dyed leaves. The leaves and fibers originate probably from the palmyra- or doub palm (Borassus flabellifer) and talipot palm(Corypha umbraculifera). The skew in the upper part comes from a slip lid, which is not shown here. The sketch above shows the buildup of the both braided tapes, which are visible on the outside of the boxes as ornament.

The boxes date likely in the 19th century and were probably used to contain betel nuts (called “Sirih” by the locals). As usually, they were from different size to store and transport them interleaved.

Watercolor and ink, 2019

32 x 24 cm

Contribution for the documentary about a restoration of four boxes from north Sulawesi, conducted by Alice Costes in the degree course for conservation and restoration of archaeological, ethnological and handicrafted objects at the National Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart.

Domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo f. domestica) with poults. The surroundings are orientated at the Aztec culture.

Oil paint on paper, 2018/19

40 x 30 cm

MoVo – Moderne Vogelbilder, 2019, Heineanum Halberstadt

The picture shows a male aboriginal Tasmanian, member of an ethnic group which faced a cruel genozide by european settlers during the 19th century. The last of them with pure Tasmanian descent, Fanny Chochrane Smith, died in 1905. Nonetheless there are still people around with partly native Tasmanian ancestry.
The man has dressed his hair with red ochre, which was common at the east coast of the island. The necklace is made from sea snails of the species Phasianotrochus bellulus, which was evidentially used by Tasmanians. Furthermore the tasmanians had very scantily clothing, not exceeding kangaroo fur. They didn’t know the art of tatooing, but scarification was done on parts of the body, like on the chest or shoulders.

For research I used the following publication: Gisela Völger: Die Tasmanier: Versuch einer ethnographisch-historischen Rekonstruktion; Wiesbaden, Steiner,1972

Oil paint on cardboard, 2017

29,5 x 21 cm

Kalmyk yurts, south-western Russia

Acrylic paint on paper, 2017/18

32 x 24 cm

Tōrō, a lantern made of granite which was used in Japanese Buddhist temples first, can be seen also in Japanese gardens since a few centuries..

Pencil, 2018

29,5 x 21 cm

The drawing originated at the Lindenmuseum in Stuttgart.

Stone statue from Hawai’i, 19th century. Such images depicted personal tutelary deities (aumakua), which were venerated even also after the Christianization, mainly by fishermans .

Pencil, 2017

29,5 x 21 cm

The drawing originated at the Lindenmuseum in Stuttgart.

Buddhistical monk

Acrylic paint on paper, 2017

48 x 36 cm

Ancestor skull, drawn in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris

Pencil, 2017

29,5 x 21 cm

Encounter with Aepyornis maximus

A Madagasy man of the Bara type faces a bird which extinction is caused by his species: elephant birds, also known as vorompatras, belong to the biggest birds of Earth history and lived probably until the 17th century. Anyway this bird has an importance for the natives until today: the shells of the big eggs are collected and sold to tourists. The aborigine has a gusset hairstyle, which was still a distinctive feature between the different clans of Madagascar a hundred years ago. The hair gussets were often covered in a layer of wax.

Coloured pencil, 2016/17

59,5 x 42 cm

MoVo – Moderne Vogelbilder, 2017, Heineanum Halberstadt

Collar of the Blackfoot from the middle of the 19th century. It consists of bison leather (Bos bison) and is adorned with claws of the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and pearls. The collar is arranged in the Karl-May-Museum in Radebeul.

Pencil, 2016

29,5 x 21 cm

Abschied von Marcus Burkhardt

Alles was schön ist, bleibt auch schön,
auch wenn es welkt.
Und unsere Liebe bleibt Liebe,
auch wenn wir sterben.
Maxim Gorki

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