Rare skull mask · Papua New Guinea - Sepik · ID: 3048230
sold
EUR 1,600
Provenance
Baudouin de Grunne, Wezembeek-Oppem, BelgiumRoberto Gamba, Milano, Italy
Size
H: 26 cm
H: 10.2 inch
Description
animal skull, clay-like mass, nassa snails, shells, boar tusks, cassowary feathers, rattan, inventory no. “425” on the reverse, base
Skull masks have a long tradition in Papua. Reche reports from the South Sea expedition of 1908-10 on masks based on human skulls (Reche, 1913, p. 400). Later, masks made of animal skeletal parts, especially turtle shell or the sternum of a cassowary, were found (cf. Aumann, 1986, p. 66 ff.).
Comparing literature
Reche, Otto, Der Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss, Hamburg 1913, p. 400 f. Aumann, Georg, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk aus Neu Guinea, Coburg 1986, p. 66 ff.