Masque rare "ges" pour "malagan" - Cérémonies, 19ème siècle
Thence by descent in the Brosch family
Dorotheum, Vienna, 15 December 2020, lot 52
Galerie Flak, Paris, France (2021)
Description
wood (alstonia), traditional pigments, shell inlay, clay-like mass, fibres, rest., missing part
This impressive mask was collected in situ in 1894 by Austrian frigate captain Rudolph Brosch during the Imperial South Seas Expedition (1893–1895). Some of the objects taken from New Ireland were brought to the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum) in Vienna, while several artworks, including this mask, have remained in the Brosch family for over 125 years.
This powerful mask most likely represents a “ges” spirit. These spirits can be seen as a person’s spiritual double, as powerful and malevolent beings that exist in a neighbouring parallel world. They sometimes interact in the human world either through impromptu encounters or through dreams.
By wearing the masks, the dancers embody a “ges” spirit. Their performance marks the beginning of the final phase of a “malagan” ceremony. They are considered guardians who arrive before the most important masks (large wooden masks called “vanis”). Their role is to drive out the wandering spirits of the dead and remove all marks of the dead from the society. They are preparing the ritual space where the “malagan” ceremony will take place. (According to Jean-Philippe Beaulieu, “Very Early New Ireland Ges Masks”)