Fishnet Float (Kopalla)
1900
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Fishnet Float (Kopalla)
1900
Physical Qualities
Wood, pigment, 4 5/16 x 3 9/16 x 8 1/2 in. (11 x 9 x 21.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1955.251.128
A boy rides a giant turtle. A man grinds fish bait in a mortar [1955.251.129]. Two people hold the fish they have caught [1955.251.125]. These simple moments between humans and the ocean are captured by these sculptures, which were once attached to fishnets and floated atop the water like buoys.
Although Solomon Islands artists created these floats to help fishers keep their nets open, they also beautifully demonstrate the intimate relationship Oceanic societies had with the sea. In the 1890s, Solomon Islanders described these objects using the word debbleum, a term used to identify objects that interacted with the spirit beings who lived in the natural world.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1955; Alan Wurtzburger; Museum of Melbourne?; Museum of Victoria; Mr. Graham Officeran officer stationed in Roviana Lagoon 1901;
"The Alan Wurtzburger Collection of Oceanic Art", January 7th-March 4th 1956, Baltimore Museum of Art
Schuster, Carl. "Some Artistic Parallels Between Tanimber, the Solomon Islands and Easter Island". Cultureel Indie. (8). pg. 1-8.
Douglas F. Fraser & Paul S. Wingret, "The Wurtzburger Collection of Oceanic Art" , BMA 1956 pg. 35. cat no. 128.
Fernstrom, Katherine W. "The Alan Wurtzburger Oceanic Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art". Pacific Arts. July 1997. pg. 92.
Kevin Tervala, "Oceanic Art at The Baltimore Museum of Art," Tribal Arts Magazine 104 (Summer 2022): 106-113. Illustrated on pg. 110.
On View at the BMA
