Jean Charlot - rare hand signed vintage lithograph - c1960s

This is a gorgeous very rare original limited edition vintage lithograph entitled 'Qaravi Yaqona - Kava Ceremony' by Jean Charlot. The lithograph is hand signed and numbered in pencil by Charlot himself. The lithograph is number 61 out of a limited run of 150.

Charlot is an artist whose work is in the permanent collections of more than two dozen museums, including Dallas Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Vatican Museum: Picture Gallery. He is also mentioned in at least 40 reference books and his art has been sold by more than a dozen major auction houses internationally.

This rare original lithograph is titled "Qaravi Yaqona - Kava Ceremony" and is from the suite "Kei Viti, Melanesian Images". It is a great composition that depicts a Melanesian making preparations for a Kava Ceremony. Charlot wrote, "Crushed, the root of the plant is diluted into a liquid that smells and tastes of earth even more than water. Each step of Kava making obeys rules evolved along the centuries. Here the mixing bowl is shaped in the highly stylized image of a turtle. On occasions, a rope of fiber decorated with shells is stretched from the bowl towards the major guest. The master of ceremony, a sage well versed in genealogical lore, sees to it that the order in which the single coconut cup is presented around obeys a most exacting protocol."

The lithograph is in excellent condition and is framed and mounted. The frame is bespoke and high quality. The mount is high quality museum standard and acid free. The picture looks even more stunning in reality.

A limited lithograph signed by the artist is the next best thing to owning an original painting. The value of art has continued to rise during the western recession. It goes without saying that this work will provide an outstanding appreciating investment as well as an impressive statement for your home or office.

Provenance
Private collection of Stephen Baring. Collection includes two inherited collections and twenty five years of personal collecting. The collection numbers well over 1,000 works of art and a number will be sold over the coming weeks to fund a project. The piece comes complete with a statement of authenticity. Other provenance is with Gima's Art Gallery (Honolulu, Hawaii) and the lithograph is cataloged in 'Jean Charlot's Prints, A Catalogue Raisonne, Supplement', by Peter Morse (#726).

BIOGRAPHY and REFERENCES:
Jean Charlot, author, artist and playwright, was born in Paris, France on February 7, 1898. His training as an artist took place in Mexico, where he worked as a staff artist for the Carnegie Archaeological expedition in Yucatan from 1926 to 1930. While living in Mexico, Charlot became caught up in the mural renaissance taking place in that country and he was employed by the Mexican government to paint murals on the walls of public buildings in Mexico City. Later he received a Guggenheim Fellowship to write on the mural movement in Mexico. Charlot left Mexico in 1929 and went to the United States. He joined the faculty of the Art Students' League in New York City, where he taught from 1931 to 1941, then served as artist-in-residence for four years at the University of Georgia. In 1947 Charlot became director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, a post he held until 1949 when he accepted a professorial chair at the University of Hawaii. Charlot retired from his position as Senior Professor of Art in 1966. Charlot wrote numerous art books during his career and also illustrated titles for children and adults. Among the children's books he illustrated were two Newbery Medal winners: Ann Nolan Clark'sSecret of the Andes (1952) and Joseph Krumgold's and Now Miguel (1953). The Timid Ghost (1966) and Kittens, Cubs, and Babies (1959), two titles represented in the collection, were designed by Charlot. A Child's Good Night Book (1943) and When Will the World Be Mine? The Story of a Snowshoe Rabbit (1953) were both Caldecott honor books. Jean Charlot died on March 20, 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii."

Jean Charlot's commentary on this lithograph: "Today, a visitor will be entertained by the village head with a war dance, spearmen mimicking a battle, nevertheless sending a shiver into the honored one as, for a finale, they all converge on him. Though they stop their spears just short of impact, an uneasy notion surfaces that he is after all a target, and at that an edible one! Starting from this present day make believe I attempt here a recession in time, when antique heroes split each other's skulls with artfully carved warclubs, featuring an obtuse edge good enough to brain commoners, and besides a sharper hook that war etiquette reserved for carving in the pate of chiefs."

Source: Egon and Joan Teichert Fine Prints
Read more about Jean Charlot at: https://www.jeancharlot.org/lifeandwork

A genuine picture by a listed artist that will be much admired in your home or office. Will provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to enjoy. You are welcome to return for a full refund if you are not entirely happy. Also, please feel free to view at our central London showroom.