Visions of an Enduring World: Jacoulet and the People of Oceania

Naked Bodies

An important characteristic of many of Jacoulet’s portraits is the nakedness of the people. It brings attention to the unique adornments of his subjects that refer to cultural markers of the islands. It also exoticizes his islander subjects by invoking ideas of “primitiveness” that would disappear in the civilized world. His original watercolors of many of these works would often have sadness reflecting in the eyes of the islanders, premature wrinkles, and gray strands. These elements are Jacoulet’s interpretation of an aging and disappearing people.

What do you find intriguing about Jacoulet’s images?


Paul Jacoulet
Japan, c. 1934
Woodblock print
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Child
1981.117.4
The adornments on the Yapese women signal cultural meanings. The sennit necklace in the portrait indicated a sexually mature woman eligible for marriage. Her tattoos on her arms and hands suggests she is part of a high caste as she lives in a socially stratified society that included slavery until after World War II.













KAP-KAP NECK ORNAMENT
Solomon Islands
Clam shell and coral beads hung on nylon string
Gift of Jarlan Givelber 
1995.97.10
Kap-Kap ornaments are white discs made from a giant clam shell and worn as a suspended pendant, on headbands, or on belts by men of the Solomon and Santa Cruz Islands. They were worn into battle and festivals as a sign of personal wealth and status. The size and quality of the Kap-Kap indicated a person’s social status. This one has incised natural designs possibly derived from fish and bird motifs. Others may also have a decorative layer of openwork tortoise shell. Kap-Kaps are traded throughout Melanesia and still have high value for their beauty.
 

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