Mask
Life Story
This mask is both sculpturally exceptional and unique in form. The nose has five apertures – two in the flaring nostrils (echoing the prominent eyelids), two at the base of the nose and one, vertical, at the tip. Small holes around the upper rim of the mask show that it was once attached to a crest or cap, of which nothing now remains. The pierced eyes have circular mounts for opercula, but these are missing. Similar masks have not been found in the literature; perhaps the closest parallel in style is a mask in Berlin, collected in 1875, which has similar long lips and engraved designs (Helfrich, 1973: no. 4).
Steven Hooper, 1997
Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, Vol. 2: Pacific, African and Native North American Art, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997) pp. 314-315.
Exhibitions
'Pablo Picasso: The Legacy of Youth', Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, 13/3/2022 - 17/7/2022
Provenance
Formerly in the George Brown Collection, University of Newcastle.
Purchased by the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia from Sotheby's, London in 1986 on the advice of Robert Sainsbury out of funds provided by the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Art Trust.
Not on display
Title/Description: Mask
Born: 1880 c.
Object Type: Mask
Materials: Fibre, Pigment, Wood
Measurements: h. 260 x w. 245 x d. 214 mm
Accession Number: 941
Historic Period: Late 19th century
Production Place: Melanesia, Northern New Ireland, Oceania, Pacific
Credit Line: Purchased with support of the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Art Trust, 1986
