Anthropomorphic mask, Papua New Guinea. - Lot 331

Anthropomorphic mask, Papua New Guinea. Anthropomorphic facial mask with stylized features and an exaggerated oval shape. The almond-shaped eyes are accentuated by an oblong outline that plays with hollows and solids. The nose is elongated and beak-shaped, giving the face a hybrid dimension. The ears, small semicircles, are marked by an incision delimiting the lobe and the pavilion. A central bas-relief ridge of discontinuous abstract sculptures crosses the face from the top of the skull to the tip of the elongated nose. By central symmetry, an interlocking L-shaped motif is painted on the part extending from the eyebrows to the top of the forehead. This partially faded ornament is reddish-brown in color. The top of the skull ends in a half-oval collar. Several holes are visible on the sides and throughout the mask. These must have been used to attach a rattan headdress to the mask, as shown in the specialized literature (see bibliography and corpus for comparison). This cap also rested on the collar at the back of the mask. This mask, called "rapei", embodies a supernatural being called "Lewa". Its representation takes up the figurative canons of supernatural creatures common to the Lower Sepik populations, notably the nose evoking a beak, the whole possessing obvious phallic connotations. Used as a pair during a dance ritual, this specimen is the male pole of the pair, unfortunately orphaned. Missing. Wogeo or Bam, Koil Island, Schouten Islands (or Le Maire Islands) (Papua New Guinea). On base. Dimensions: 69 cm high (including base), 18 cm wide. Estimated dating: Mid-twentieth century Provenance : - Private collection, Nouméa - Acquired from the previous owner by Grégory Ronseaux Selective bibliography : - Chris BOYLAN, Catalogue du Parcours des mondes 2022, pp. 6-7 * On Lower Sepik styles - A.J.P. MEYER, Oceanian Art, Könemann, Cologne, 1995; pp. 178-197 Corpus for comparison : - Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (Paris), 70.2022.45.1 - St Louis Art Museum (St Louis, USA), 170:1975 - Lot 117, Sotheby's, Paris - Oct. 10, 2018