Jean-Paul Morin, an avid reader, knowledgeable bibliophile and astute collector, has, over the course of several decades, compiled an important collection of books, manuscripts, drawings, engravings and Northern American and Oceanic artefacts. This sale is a veritable circumnavigation of the world, crossing North and South America, the Arctic, Antarctica, and Oceania, following in the wake of navigators, explorers, privateers, missionaries, scientists, artists, and anthropologists who crossed the seas from the Renaissance to modern times to discover distant lands.
Mapping the Adventures of the First Explorers
Art from Oceania, the Americas and the Poles
Books and Manuscripts
One of the very first texts ever written about Australia. Pedro Fernandes de Quiros, a famous Portuguese navigator in the service of the Spanish crown, was the first to envision the existence of the southern continent, which he named the "Fourth part of the world".
- Eastern Australia
An exceptionally rare first edition of the voyage of the Astrolabe commanded by Dumont d'Urville, one of the most important missions in the Pacific. The natural history collections gathered by the Astrolabe scientists were considerable. It was also during this expedition that Dumont d'Urville discovered the site of the shipwreck of the ill-fated La Pérouse.
- New Caledonia
The fascinating account of a convict sentenced to 6 years of hard labor, who managed to escape from the penal colony of Nou Island in 1903.
- Tierra del Fuego
A very beautiful illuminated Portolan chart, dating from the second half of the 16th century, showing the Atlantic coast of South America, extending from Tierra del Fuego to Cabo do Santo Agostinho.
A major book on Canada by the great cartographer of North America. Samuel de Champlain made his first trip to New France in 1603, visited Acadia and the coasts of New England, founded Quebec City in 1608 and explored part of the Great Lakes.
- South America
In 1826, the Museum of Natural History entrusted the French naturalist and explorer, Alcide d'Orbigny, with a mission to South America. For seven years, under frequently dangerous conditions, he explored Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Chile and Patagonia. D'Orbigny's work, illustrated with 430 plates, is considered to be one of the most important studies of South America.
- North America
An invaluable record of Native American culture.
A first edition of the account of the scientific and hunting expedition of the Duke of Orleans in the Arctic on the ship the Belgica. During this voyage, the great-grandson of Louis-Philippe carried out important oceanographic works but caught in the ice east of New Zealand, the Belgica was unable to go any further north.
First edition of the account of the two expeditions, between 1771 and 1773, of the Breton sailor Yves Joseph de Kerguelen in search of the legendary southern continent. After many adventures and due to difficult weather, Kerguelen returned to France having only discovered the archipelago that would bear his name.
- The Atlantic Ocean
First edition in Latin. At the head of a flotilla of six ships from the Dutch East India Company, in 1614 Spilbergen sailed through the Straits of Magellan to the Moluccas and along the coast of Peru, proving that it was possible to reach Java from the east, via Cape Horn. It was the first attempt to circumnavigate the world, done with the official support of the Dutch government.
- New Zealand
This Maori hand club belongs to the group known as wahaika, which is specifically characterized by the beauty of the sinuous design of the blade. The rich ornamentation and the presence of a carved tiki figure above the handle add to the characteristic features of this type of club.
- Easter Island
The sheer rarity of ua ceremonial staffs, most of which are kept in museums, makes this an exceptional object. As is the case here, these staffs are distinguished by the carved Janus head at the top, with identical faces, whose eyes were originally set with fragments of obsidian.
- Papua New Guinea
With its sculptural characteristics and naturalistic style, this work can without a doubt be attributed to a master sculptor named Mutaga from the village of Dagodagoisu, in Papua New Guinea.
- Admiralty Islands, Bismark Archipelago
Lime spatulas specifically caught the attention of the surrealists. In fact, they associated the purpose for which these objects were made with certain practices of the surrealist current: « utilisée lors de la consommation du bétel, elle servait à porter à la bouche une préparation aux vertus euphoriques et délirantes. » ("used during the taking of the betel leaf, it served to bring a preparation with euphoric and delirious virtues to the mouth. "(Leenhardt quoted in Pierre, André Breton et la peinture, 1987, p. 260.
Lot 96 - Arizona
The spectacular nature of this object comes from the liveliness of the colors as well as the different elements added to the doll such as the feathers and strands from a horse’s mane.
With its cylindrical mask and its imposing tableta decorated with multicolored symbols representing the rainbow, this doll displays the exuberance of the Zuni style, later adopted by the Hopi.
- New Mexico
This Kachina doll has the various characteristics of the Zuni aesthetic, namely a choice of bright colors and a wealth of ornamentation, giving this object its particularly exuberant aspect.
- Bering Strait, Alaska
This carved wooden amulet represents an anthropomorphic figure. It is said to originate from the Saint Lawrence Islands and the term "Okvik" would refer to the "place where the walrus come ashore", referring to a cult practice of these native Alaskan peoples.
- Nunivak Island, Alaska
Strikingly modern, this mask presents a complex sculpture centered on a human face in carved wood. Worn by a shaman during ceremonies, the mask served as a medium for communication with the spirit world that governs the animal world.
Having several Yupiit masks (Yup'ik in the singular) in the Jean-Paul Morin collection allows one to see the almost infinite variety of Yup'ik craftsmanship. Their mastery of woodwork, characteristic of the native peoples of the southwestern region of Alaska, can be seen in their ability to blend human and animal attributes so admirably.
- British Columbia
194 - British Columbia
The presence of several models of dugout canoes in the Jean-Paul Morin collection provides information regarding the art of navigation among the peoples of North America. This dugout canoe was built by the Haida, a population originating mainly from the west coast of Canada and the northern United States.