Big wickerwork mask "didagur" · Papua New Guinea - Middle Sepik · ID: 3032334
Hubert Caspers, Hamburg, Germany
Description
rattan, red, white and black pigment, feathers, rattan framework, coated with lygodium wickerwork, a raised nose ridge with trunk-like prolongation, min. dam., traces of abrasion, small missing parts;
“didagur” masks were used at initiation ceremonies. They are represented in both male and female forms, the male identified by the long nose. The latter is interpreted variously, as depiction of an Echidna head, lizard tail or frigate bird, which is known as “soul bird” all over Oceania.
The object Big wickerwork mask “didagur” with the object ID 3032334 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 40 achieved a sales price of EUR 700.
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Comparing literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 250, ill. 273