A NEW GUINEA MASK, the slender curved face with protruding tongue, the nose with pierced septum linked to the chin by a small inverted mask, the finial on the forehead deficient, pierced twice at the top for attachment, black patina with traces of white and pink pigments, Lower Sepik River

Details
A NEW GUINEA MASK, the slender curved face with protruding tongue, the nose with pierced septum linked to the chin by a small inverted mask, the finial on the forehead deficient, pierced twice at the top for attachment, black patina with traces of white and pink pigments, Lower Sepik River
40cm. high
Provenance
Margaret Mead

Lot Essay

Sold with a xerox of a letter from the American Museum of Natural History relating how the mask was collected by Margaret Mead in March of April 1933 in the area of the Tchambuli and Aibom lakes. At that time the area was inhabited by a group of only 550 individuals speaking a language distinct from that of their neighbours and having their own cultural identity.

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