Transcultural journeys: The disembedding and re-embedding of Sepik art

Abstract

Artefacts have always been part of inter- and transcultural journeys in the Sepik. People and artefacts had been continuously moving throughout the area in pre-colonial New Guinea due to migrations, exchange and plundering. However, the scope and the quality of these journeys changed fundamentally when the process of disembedding of artefacts started with the collecting activities of explorers in the colonial area. Against the backdrop of the transmaritime journeys of textiles from India to the Southeast Asian archipelago in pre-colonial times, this article highlights the special features of the Sepik case. The dislocation of predominantly old and “authentic” Sepik artefacts to places in the western world resulted in their transformation and re-embedding in new settings. A proliferation of transformations and reinterpretations of Sepik art began with the transcultural journeys of artefacts to multiple destinations since the intensification of globalisation, resulting in stories about the artefacts with conflicting interpretations and consequences.