ART on view 84 the artist who had created the work and to record other meaningful contextual information that could only be acquired directly from the indigenous communities. It also emphasized the aesthetic quality of the artworks: “Mr. Charpentier has been asked to concentrate on collecting New Hebridean artifacts notable for their artistic quality and suitability as ‘gallery’ pieces rather than as material primarily of ethnic interest.”2 Pretty wrote to Charpentier to ensure the emphasis was to be on the art rather than ethnography: “… remember that the stress of this project should be on the art and its place in tribal life, as distinct from the ethnographer’s obligation to effectively represent all aspects of a culture. The basis of acquisitions shall at all times be quality.”3 Given Pretty’s direction, Charpentier’s resulting collection can be interpreted as being limited from an anthropological perspective and there are many gaps in material culture that are not represented. Yet it should be kept in mind that this was a collection built for an art gallery predicated on a broad understanding of the visual arts linked to the aesthetic qualities of the individual works. To this end, it is a remarkable collection. Charpentier realized early on that art made for traditional purposes was not be found everywhere in Vanuatu. His first diary entry upon arrival at Ambrym is quite telling: “Authentic art has disappeared, even very old people don’t remember. … The natives only concern is to make money; they don’t care about the ritual and customary value of works of art.”4 By his second day things became more positive when he visited Fona village, where people understood his interest in collecting and preserving traditional arts. However, no one could be encouraged to create or sell objects without the permission of renowned Chief Rengrengmal. After discussions with Rengrengmal at his home village of Fanla, it was agreed that objects could be purchased but only if the chief set the prices. Returning to Port Vila on Efate Island, Charpentier visited a handful of commercial art dealers there and saw only what he considered to be poorly crafted objects created for the fledgling tourist market. It was clear that he could build a strong collection only by drawing upon areas still active in traditional lifeways. In early November 1972 Charpentier began his first collecting visit to Malakula. He landed at Unua and walked inland to the village of Budin. In his discus- FIG. 5 (left): Grade figure, Batru. Created by Amanpuitas, c. 1972. Borumvor village, Malakula Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Tree fern, ochre. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.103. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. Created for the seventh nimangi grade level, this batru has horn-like projections representing the spirit’s overreaching arms that are ready to grab the unaware. Up to six live pigs must be paid to the commissioned artist, who is usually the gradetaker’s sponsor, to create the work. A further six pigs must be sacrificed at the grade-taking event. FIG. 6 (near right): Ramparamp. Created by Alytnapong, c. 1960–1970. Lempenuen village, Malakula Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Clay, bone, bamboo, wood, fiber, boar tusks, shell. H: 148 cm. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.160. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. FIG. 7 (far right): Ramparamp. Created by Kavinempur, c. 1973. Menmenboas village, Malakula Island, Malampa Province, Vanuatu. Vegetable clay, tree fern, ochre, fiber, boar tusk, spider web, teeth, coconut shell. Purchased by J.-M. Charpentier on behalf of the Commonwealth Arts Advisory Board. National Gallery of Australia, 1971.207.200. Photo: National Gallery of Australia. To become a ramparamp is an honor. It is the culmination of a lifelong devotion to the nimangi grade system in which, at its highest levels, the living become one with the ancestors. Ramparamp include the skull of the deceased, since the head holds the soul and decades of learning and wisdom. It is overmodeled into a portrait of the man in the prime of his earthly ceremonial life. The painted designs on the face and body represent those that the deceased, now an ancestor, wore in his last grade-taking ceremony.
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