"Malagan" mask "tatanua" ·  Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée - Archipel Bismarck - Nouvelle Irlande · ID: 3038975

Description

light wood (“Alstonia scholaris”), eyes with shell inlay (“Turbo Phetolatus opercula”), red, indigo blue and white pigment, face in openwork design with flaring nostrils and slit-like open mouth, flanked by large ornamental ears, filigree ornaments painted in feathery lines, broad rim with drilled holes in pairs, originally serving for attachment of elaborated coiffure, min. dam. (nose), abrasion of paint, metal base;
the “tatanua” mask was a representation of the “tanua” spirit or soul of a deceased individual. “Tatanua” were danced in public, either in pairs, or in groups or lines of men. In addition to these masks the dancers wore a garland of fern leaves and other foliage round their bodies, reaching from the waist to the knee. They perform when a clan decides to sponsor a large-scale mortuary celebration, called “malagan”. Some six weeks before this event the dancers begin sleeping and eating within the sponsors house. During this time they practice a form of abstinence in order to develope male “strength” for the performance. Not only are physical contacts with women taboo, the men may not eat peeled taro and fish. Should a dancer fail to develope this male capability through abstinence, the mask will constrict his head, causing blood to run from his temples and nostrils.

L’objet “Malagan” mask “tatanua” avec l’ID d’objet 3038975 a fait partie de la vente aux enchères 80th Tribal Art Auction dans 27 juin 2015. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 44 a atteint un prix de vente de 4 500 € pour un prix d’adjudication de 4 000 €.

Vous trouverez d’autres Masques, Malagan et autres types d’objets populaires sur nos pages thématiques associées. Notre page sur le thème Art océanien pourrait également vous intéresser.

Littérature comparée

Gunn, Michael, Ritual Arts of Oceania - New Ireland, Genf, Mailand 1997, p. 146 f. Lincoln, Louise, Assemblage of Spirits, 1987, p. 65 f.