Vanikoro

Artist Louis Auguste de Sainson (French, 1801 - 1887)

Date1826 - 1829

Object number00046847

NameLithograph

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 335 x 530 x 1 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA lithograph from the voyage accounts of the 19th century French explorer Dumont D'Urville. It show illustrations of canoes, native jewellery, spears, fishing and carrying implements. The page is titled 'Vanikoro' which is an island from the Santa Cruz group in the Solomon Islands.HistoryCaptain Jules Dumont d'Urville was a French naval officer who commanded two voyages of discovery to the Pacific Ocean and to Antarctica during the Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830) and July Monarchy (1830 - 1848) At an early stage of his naval career Dumont d'Urville participated in a hydrographic survey of the Aegean Sea during which he was instrumental in the recovery for the Musee de Louvre of the 'Venus de Milo'; he later served with distinction as second-in-command to Captain Louis Duperrey during a circumnavigation in the 'corvette' LA COQUILLE (1822 - 1825) Due to the success of that voyage, the French Minister for the Navy commissioned another voyage in LA COQUILLE, which was refitted and renamed L'ASTROLABE in recognition of the fact that one of the voyage's objectives was to discover the fate of La Perouse's two ships (L'Astrolabe and La Boussole) which had disappeared without trace in 1788. The fate of La Perouse's expedition had become a great mystery since the disappearance of the two ships. Unfortunately an opportunity to rescue some survivors and shed new light on the mystery had passed by in 1791 when HMS PANDORA sailed within sight of Vanikoro and ignored smoke plumes indicating that the island was inhabited. The La Perouse expedition’s demise was also a great disappointment in France. The expedition's royal patron (King Louis XVI) is said to have asked, shortly before his execution by guillotine in 1793, whether finally there was some news of La Perouse! Dumont d'Urville was given command and set off in the renamed 'corvette' in 1826; this first voyage in L'ASTROLABE lasted nearly 3 years (to 1829) and, following reports by the Anglo-Irish sandalwood trader Peter Dillon, succeeded in finding the wreck of La Perouse's ASTROLABE and evidence of a survivors' camp on Vanikoro Island; however, by then none of La Perouse's crews had survived to tell of their fate after shipwreck. Dumont d'Urville erected a monument to La Perouse at Vanikoro before starting the return journey to France. He arrived in Marseilles in February 1829 carrying anchors, chains and guns collected from the wreck site. On its second Pacific voyage, which included a visit to Anarctica and also lasted almost three years (1837-1840) L'ASTROLABE was accompanied by the 'corvette' LA ZELEE, commanded by Dumont d'Urville's former second-in-command in L'ASTROLABE Lieutenant Jacquinot. The findings of both voyages were published in Paris accompanied by 'Atlases' containing a wide variety of detailed illustrations, ranging from drawings of collected specimens of natural history and coastal views to portraits of exotic peoples encountered during the voyages. Dumont d'Urville gained fame for his role in unravelling the disappearance of La Perouse, one of the greatest maritime mysteries of the 19th century; and for his exploration of Antarctica. On 8 May 1842 he was killed with his family when the train they were on derailed and caught fire during a journey from Versailles to Paris. Bibliography: Dumont d'Urville: 'Atlas historique' to 'Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe execute par ordre du Roi pendant les annees 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, sous le commandement de M. Jules S-C Dumont d'Urville Dumont d'Urville: 'Atlas Pittoresque' to 'Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l'Oceanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zelee, execute par ordre du Roi pendant les annees 1837, 1838, 1839,1840, sous le commandement de M. Jules Dumont d'Urville, Capitaine de Vaisseau. SignificanceDumont d'Urville's first ASTROLABE expedition was also the first French expedition to visit Vanikoro Island, where traces of the La Perouse expedition had been discovered in 1826 by Captain Peter Dillon, an Anglo-Irish sandalwood trader.

The La Perouse expedition’s demise was a great disappointment in France and its disappearance became a major maritime mystery in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The expedition's royal patron (King Louis XVI) is said to have asked, shortly before his execution by guillotine in 1793, whether finally there was some news of La Perouse!

This is one of a collection of 43 lithographs which demonstrates French interest in Pacific ethnology; as attested by the illustrations of objects of material culture collected or recorded through-out the voyage. Several of the lithographs show views of Vanikoro and its people, as well as scenes from other far-flung or remote places visited during the voyage, such as Ascension Island in the South Atlantic.

Dumont d'Urville's two expeditions to the Pacific in the ASTROLABE (1826 - 1829; and 1837 - 1840, with LA ZELEE, commanded by Captain Jacquinot) brought back significant scientific collections which emulate the achievements of James Cook in the 1770s and parallel the work of Charles Darwin aboard the BEAGLE.

As well as scientists, both expeditions included artists of considerable talent. On the first expedition the chief artist was Louis de Sainson. Ernest Goupil was the official artist during part of the second ASTROLABE expedition; however, he died during the voyage and was succeded by by the expedition's assistant surgeon Louis le Breton.

In modern Anthropology Dumont d'Urville is recognised for initiating and applying a classification system to various ethnic groups; describing them as Austronesian, Polynesian, Melanesian or Micronesian.