A beautiful old tatanua mask that perfectly illustrates - th - Lot 146

A beautiful old tatanua mask that perfectly illustrates - through the remarkable elaboration of its headdress and the "baroque" treatment of the full and empty carving - the power of fascination exerted by the arts of New Ireland since their discovery by Europeans at the end of the 19th century. Intended to provoke a visual shock when the mask is turned during the closing dances of Malangan funeral rituals, the headdress is divided into two over-modeled parts of a lime shell decorated with scrolls, separated by a crest formed from a tuft of plant fibers. The carved wooden face emphasizes the criteria of male beauty in New Ireland: a broad nose, pierced, ornamented and highly elongated earlobes, and a large mouth with significant teeth. New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago Wood, textile, vegetable fibers, lime and pigments, shells (Turbo petholatus), well preserved with old patina. Height: 32cm Provenance: Alice and Henri Dupont Collection, Lille, acquired c. 1950 Passed on by descent