Gable mask
Papua New Guinea - Middle Sepik, Iatmul
Vendu
4 000 €
Provenance
collected in situ by the German Radio Officer Lehr, on duty for the North German Lloyd (on a ship called “Friderum”), 1921-1928Taille
H: 64 cm
H: 25.2 inch
Description
wood, black ground, red and white pigment, entirely painted with curvilinear ornaments, at which the slanting eyes are especially accentuated, pierced stirrup-shaped nose with inflated nostrils, carved with a small hornbill and wild boar tusks, slightly dam., boar tusks missing on the left, pigment rubbed off;
the Iatmul used to attach large raffia plaited or wooden masks to the gables of dwelling and ritual houses. The gable masks of dwelling houses represent female clan-specific spiritual beings, whose task is to protect the inhabitants of the respective houses from any harm or mistfortune that might occur.