Oceania, Papua New Guinea, East Sepik River region, Iatmul peoples, ca. mid-20th century CE. A large gable mask composed of tightly woven cane fibers wrapped around a wooden frame. The face has a concave shape with a jutting brow and a raised upper lip, surface is painted with characteristic black, white, and orange-red pigment, and the edges have cassowary feathers woven into the fibers. Masks like this example are part of an important ceremony for initiated men. The mask is tied to a gable inside a ceremonial ancestral hut to represent the face of the "primordial female ancestor," with the structure itself representing her body. Size: 19" L x 14" W (48.3 cm x 35.6 cm)

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Cambridgeshire, UK estate

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#178307

Fraying to woven peripheries and cassowary feathers. Flaking and losses to pigments. Overall great condition.