Masque facial, Yup'ik,Alaska

représentant probablement Isanuk, le morse, identifié par les grands yeux circulaires percés au creux des orbites profondes, le nez triangulaire bifide et la large bouche ouverte découvrant quatre dents massives. La puissance de l'expression est accentuée par la surface épannelée, laissant visibles les marques des outils ayant servi à le sculpter. Il a conservé, à l'arrière, un mors de portage. Patine naturelle, avec traces de pigments rouges et noirs.

Collection Adams Hollis Twitchell
Museum of the American Indian, New York, The Heye Foundation, inventaire n° 9/3406
Acquisition par Julius Carlebach en janvier 1945, New York
Collection Maria Martins, New York et Paris
Sotheby's, New York, Juin 2004, n°19

 

The mask is in very good original condition although the surface is somewhat dirty. Darkening of the surface might have resulted from its placement near a fireplace in the home of Maria Martins.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A.H. Twitchell naquit à Jamaica (Vermont) en 1872 et s'installa à Chilkat en 1892, afin de se lancer dans l'extraction de l'or. En 1909, il établit à Bethel un commerce de fourrures et une entreprise commerciale - The Kuskokwin Commercial Company, avant de devenir un influent négociant et collectionneur d'objets Inuit. Selon Ann Fienup-Riordan (1996 : 249 – 257), « les masques acquis par Adams Hollis Twitchell comptent parmi les plus complexes et les plus élaborés jamais collectés ». Il fit parvenir trente-cinq masques à Heye, parmi lesquels trente-deux furent cédés par la Heye Foundation entre 1944 et 1969. Le marchand d'art new yorkais Julius Carlebach en acquit vingt-six entre 1944 et 1946, qu'il vendit dans le monde entier, en particulier à André Breton, Roberto Matta, Yves Tanguy et Robert Lebel (idem).

cf. Ann Fienup-Riordan (1996 : 252), pour un masque comparable représentant Isanuk (asveq), le morse. Selon le descriptif de Twitchell accompagnant le masque (comme les deux autres du même type envoyés à Heye), « c'est l'esprit qui guide le morse, le lion de mer et l'otarie vers la rive où le chasseur peut s'emparer d'eux » (idem).

cf. Douglas et d'Harnoncourt (1941 : 193) pour un masque apparenté - également collecté par Twitchell - dans les collections du Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.

 

An Eskimo face mask, Alaska

A.H. Twitchell was born in Jamaica, Vermont in 1872, and moved to Chilkat in 1892, where he tried his hand at gold mining. By 1909, he had established a fur trading and merchandising business called the Kuskokwim Commerical Company in Bethel, Alaska. He subsequently became an influential trader and collector of Eskimo material culture. According to Ann Fienup-Riordan (1996 : 249-257), 'The masks acquired by the Kuskokwim trader Adams Hollis Twitchell are among the most complex and elaborate ever collected'. Twitchell sent the Heye Foundation thirty-five masks, thirty-two of which were deaccessioned between 1944 and 1969. The New York art dealer Julius Carlebach purchased twenty-six of these masks between 1944 and 1946. He sold them to collectors around the world, including the Surrealist artists André Breton, Roberto Matta, Yves Tanguy, and Robert Lebel (ibid., 206).

See Ann Fienup-Riordan, (1996: 252) for a related mask representing Isanuk (asveq), the walrus, which Twitchell described as a representation of '...the spirit that drives the walrus, sea-lions and seals towards the shore so the hunter can get them' (ibid.).

See Douglas and d'Harnoncourt (1941: 193) for another related mask collected by Twitchell and now in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.