Oceanic, Papua- New Guinea. Middle Sepik River. Gable Mask for Men's House. Wood and vine frame, palm sheathing (?), pigment...

Description

Oceanic, Papua- New Guinea
Middle Sepik River
Gable Mask for Men's House
Wood and vine frame, palm sheathing (?), pigment, vines, dried fungus, wool yarn, trade cloth, feathers
Height: 59 inches Width: 45 inches Depth: 20 inches

The large community men's house was the central focus of ritual and everyday life for most males of the Sepik River watershed from middle youth onward. Men slept there, lounged there, solved life's and the village's problems there, made objects both practical and sacred, and practiced there the often complex cyclical rituals that kept the world and their lives in order. Raised a number of feet above ground to avoid seasonal flooding, the elevation of these large structures (some were eighty to one hundred feet long and peaked at the front to thirty or forty feet) also aided in their becoming an overpowering physical manifestation of male potency and prestige. From the central apex of the front façade, the great gable mask - conceived as an apotropaic protector - looked down menacingly on all who came within a certain distance of the men's house. The masks in most cases probably represented the great clan mother, and in some areas the entire men's house was understood as the clan spirit's body, so that when inside the male residents were acting within the great mother's energizing womb. With such a broad range of symbolic functions, the imagery of such masks was developed to embody a variety of moods; the mood received depended on each individual's position within the group socio-cultural complex.
Considering the fugitive nature of the materials used, the mask is in good condition. Some pieces of various vine components are missing and there is chipping of pigments. One of the three dangling ornaments has been reattached.

Provenance:
TAD Tribal Art and Design (Taylor A. Dale), Santa Fe
Gary Hendershott, Little Rock



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