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Exhibition Guide

Unidentified artist. Fishnet Float (Kopalla). c.1901. New George Island. Baltimore Museum of Art, Gift of Alan Wurtzburger, BMA 1955.251.128

Fishnet Float (Kopalla)

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Flag of the Kalawashaq village by VexilloYT. Wikimedia Commons

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Art Object Info

Unidentified Solomon Islands Artist

Medium:
Wood, pigment
Size:
Depth: 8 1/2 "
Width: 3 9/16"
Height: 4 5/16"
Date:
c. 1901

A boy rides a giant turtle. A man grinds fish bait in a mortar [1955.251.129]. Two people hold the fish they have caught [1955.251.125]. These simple moments between humans and the ocean are captured by these sculptures, which were once attached to fishnets and floated atop the water like buoys.

Although Solomon Islands artists created these floats to help fishers keep their nets open, they also beautifully demonstrate the intimate relationship Oceanic societies had with the sea. In the 1890s, Solomon Islanders described these objects using the word debbleum, a term used to identify objects that interacted with the spirit beings who lived in the natural world.

Gift of Alan Wurtzburger BMA 1955.251.128

Fishnet Float (Kopalla)

Unidentified Solomon Islands Artist
Date:
c. 1901
Medium:
Wood, pigment
Size:
Depth: 8 1/2 "
Width: 3 9/16"
Height: 4 5/16"

A boy rides a giant turtle. A man grinds fish bait in a mortar [1955.251.129]. Two people hold the fish they have caught [1955.251.125]. These simple moments between humans and the ocean are captured by these sculptures, which were once attached to fishnets and floated atop the water like buoys.

Although Solomon Islands artists created these floats to help fishers keep their nets open, they also beautifully demonstrate the intimate relationship Oceanic societies had with the sea. In the 1890s, Solomon Islanders described these objects using the word debbleum, a term used to identify objects that interacted with the spirit beings who lived in the natural world.

Gift of Alan Wurtzburger BMA 1955.251.128