Lot 2
Oceania, Papua New Guinea, New Ireland, ca. mid-20th century CE. A powerful tatanua headdress mask carved from wood and adorned with natural pigments, coconut husk fiber, catseye shells, clay, and bark. The stylized face features prominent catseye shell inlays for eyes and is intricately painted in ochre, black, and white pigments. These bold geometric motifs are emblematic of male ritual authority, ancestral veneration, and associations with warfare and spiritual power. The mask is mounted to a cane framework clad in bark panels, their outer surfaces painted in alternating black and white triangles. A braided palm fiber border, stained ochre-red, outlines the crest, which is topped with a dense coiffure of coconut fiber. Tatanua masks are used in elaborate funerary rites known as malagan, which honor the dead and celebrate community ties. They are worn by dancers during performances that conclude extended periods of mourning, often taking months to prepare and culminating in communal feasting and ritual expression. Size: 13" L x 6" W x 14.5" H (33 cm x 15.2 cm x 36.8 cm); 24.5" H (62.2 cm) on included custom stand.
Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; acquired in 2002 from Economos Works of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
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#196406
- Condition: Some fading and stains to wood, but otherwise intact and excellent.
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