I am a passionate collectionist of tribal art that collects pieces from all over the world, with a special fondness for the artifacts from Indonesia, land with which I have a special bond and inwhich it has developed my passion for this wonderful art. The purpose of this website is to offer a large directory of artworks to collectors and art lovers, stressing on the aesthetic and ethnographic mean
ing of the works. We mostly feature masks, statues, items and tools that were commonplace within the daily habits of the people who crafted them. THE "POETICS" OF MAGELLAN ART GALLERY
Art is never purely aesthetic. Particularly, tribal art is a spontaneous and direct expression of the unique characteristics and mindsets of the people who created it. With such premises, tribal art enjoys an ethnographic value, besides its aesthetic appeal, because it allows a better understanding of a people’s culture, world views and customs. Beauty and ethnographic values are always present, albeit balanced in different ratios: Every-day items are bias towards the ethnographic value, while decorative objects are usually more artistic per se. Moreover, each viewer interprets these items very subjectively. This is, perhaps, the most important factor to consider when facing a tribal item. Generally, they strike for the images they can evoke: We are fascinated by all those stores from the past or from the media (books, movies, blogs, documentaries…) portraying faraway places, old rituals, lost paradises, trips into the unknown, exploration, being lost at sea (not unlike Robinson Crusoe or the characters of the hit TV show “Lost”) and much more. These extraordinary objects are first and foremost powerful emotional generators. This is why tribal art is so popular within the western world: it speaks to our hunger for adventure and fuels our cultural suggestions and it can engage us emotionally. FEATURED ITEMS
Most of the items featured within this website come from Indonesia, where I travel on occasion.Particularly, I buy items from many small stores in remote areas such as West Timor, Borneo, Sumatra, Flores, Papua or New Guinea. This allows me to offer competitive prices for items with a high ethnographic value, when compared to major European and American collections. When it comes to non-tribal art, I also have direct links in Indonesia (Bali, Jakarta). On the other hand, experienced suppliers from all over the world provide me with artifacts from China, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Guatemala, Nepal, Burma and many other countries.
