relatively closed at the time. These expeditions notabley included, among many others, those of Joseph Martin in 1887, who was there to survey mining potential, and of Paul Labbé in 1897–1899. Nearly all of the museum’s far-eastern Siberian material is presented in the exhibition. Some additional pieces were obtained on loan from regional museums as well as from institutions abroad, especially from the Leipzig and Dresden völkerkunde museums, in order to round out the selection. Because of the historical nature of this corpus, I had to restrict my choice of pieces to older objects. Contemporary creations are not included, although for some years now a fascinating revival has been taking place among the peoples addressed here. But that is another subject and one that should be dealt with separately. T. A. M.: Since Esthétiques de l’Amour deals with cultures and traditions about which little is known in the West and which are often perceived as folk art traditions, we might have expected the perspective here to have been narrative, with a lot of explanatory information. Instead you have 65 FIGS. 2a (full view) and b (detail): Woman’s feast coat. Nivkh, Amur River basin, far-eastern Siberia, Russian Federation. Second half of the 19th century. Pacifi c salmon skin, Amur carp skin, leather. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris. © MQB. Photo: Claude Germain. A woman’s coat for feasts and for funerals, this masterpiece in thin carp skin is overlaid with dark scrollwork for protection and auspiciousness. Stylized “snout” motifs represent the terrifying jaws of the water lord, dragon-serpent, waterfowl, fi sh, bats, and living trees, which together form a blue wall shielding the wearer from evil spirits. Across the surface, a delicate “fi shnet” of curves and spirals of thin strips of blue-dyed Pacifi c salmon skin is applied with tiny stitches that expertly trace the tortuous curvilinear paths in which misfortune becomes magically lost. FIG. 3 (left): Small pouch. Ainu, Sakhalin or Kuril Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Russian Federation. Late 19th century. Black-throated loon feathers. Musée du Quai Branly. © MQB. Photo: Claude Germain. Among peoples of the Amur River, the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, and from the Chukchi Peninsula to Alaska and the Aleutians, the black-throated loon was hunted not only for food but also for its pelt, which was used to make clothes and accessories that had unique chromatic harmonies. In this small pouch of winter plumage, the Ainu may have kept a sewing kit, jewelry, and various small personal items. Aesthetics of the Amur
•TribalPaginaIntera.indd
To see the actual publication please follow the link above