Polynesian Skulls
SOLD September 2001 |
"De la Tribu des TAIS, Ile Nouka-Kiva, Archipel des Marquises (Polynésie)." Lithographic plate reproducing six daguerreotypes of human skulls by [probably, Louis-Auguste] Bisson ca. 1841. Dimensions 11.5 x 14.5 inches (30x36 cm). Plate 29 from the illustrative supplement to Dumont D'Urville, "Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l'Océanie..." (1842-7).
It is interesting that it was seen fit to reproduce the central object in this group intact, even though this obscures some features of the underlying skull which was the more proper object of Dumoutier's study. Simultaneously a scientific object and -- considering period European taste -- a surprising example of respect for primitive tribal art.
Bisson is a name which encompasses an amazing range of innovation during the first decades of photography, including an active daguerreotype studio run by Louis-Auguste Bisson, with some collaboration by his father François, under the name of Bisson Fils in the 1840s, and the later well-known enterprise run together with his younger brother, Auguste-Rosalie, under the name Bisson Frères, producing salted-paper and albumen prints.
From 1837-1840 an ocean expedition was taken by Dumont D'Urville which gathered anthropological materials, including a large collection of human skulls, for publication under the title "Voyage au Pôle Sud et dans l'Océanie..." (Voyage to the South Pole and in Oceania...). Published during the years 1842-47, this work was available with a supplement of illustrative plates. In order to facilitate accurate reproduction and later scientific use of the publication, D'Urville's skulls were daguerreotyped by Bisson at a strict 50% reduction and then reproduced via outstanding lithographs which duplicate the three-dimensionality, detail, and tonal range of the original daguerreotypes in an astonishing way. Of an extreme rarity, these plates give direct and vivid access to the first uses of scientific photography as a "trustworthy mirror" of the external world. Some very light foxing on plate.
