Tikopia, Solomon Islands
1833
Colored lithograph
Mat 24 × 20 in (61 × 50.8 cm); image 18 × 13 in (45.7 × 33 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI
J. Tatsu, editor
Plate no. 174 from Voyage de la corvette l’Astrolabe historique, Paris
This 1833 colored lithograph depicts chiefs from Tikopia, one of the Polynesian outliers within the wider Solomon Islands region. Published in connection with the voyage of the French corvette l’Astrolabe, the plate belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of expedition imagery that recorded people, places, and material culture across the Pacific. Such images circulated visual knowledge of island societies to European audiences, often becoming part of the early printed record through which Oceanic cultures were studied and collected.
The figures are presented with the composed clarity typical of voyage publications, emphasizing dress, bearing, and physical presence rather than dramatic narrative. The lithographic process allowed the original field drawings to be translated into printed form while preserving enough detail to support ethnographic and historical interest. As a work on paper, it is suited to collections focused on Pacific exploration, Solomon Islands history, Tikopia, and early nineteenth-century Oceanic documentation.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Tikopia, Solomon Islands
1833
Colored lithograph
Mat 24 × 20 in (61 × 50.8 cm); image 18 × 13 in (45.7 × 33 cm)
Provenance: Randy Nagatani, Honolulu, HI
J. Tatsu, editor
Plate no. 174 from Voyage de la corvette l’Astrolabe historique, Paris
This 1833 colored lithograph depicts chiefs from Tikopia, one of the Polynesian outliers within the wider Solomon Islands region. Published in connection with the voyage of the French corvette l’Astrolabe, the plate belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of expedition imagery that recorded people, places, and material culture across the Pacific. Such images circulated visual knowledge of island societies to European audiences, often becoming part of the early printed record through which Oceanic cultures were studied and collected.
The figures are presented with the composed clarity typical of voyage publications, emphasizing dress, bearing, and physical presence rather than dramatic narrative. The lithographic process allowed the original field drawings to be translated into printed form while preserving enough detail to support ethnographic and historical interest. As a work on paper, it is suited to collections focused on Pacific exploration, Solomon Islands history, Tikopia, and early nineteenth-century Oceanic documentation.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
