Masque, population Tumleo ou Ali, Province de Sandaun, côte occidentale du fleuve Sepik , Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée

Collection Walter Randel, New York
Collection Marcia et John Friede, New York, acquis de ce dernier dans les années 1970

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, 15 octobre 2005 - 14 février 2010

Reproduit dans :
Friede, New Guinea Art – Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, 2005, vol.1 : 51,n° 25 ; vol. 2 : 87

Daté au C14 entre 1520 et 1810 (95%)

A break at the bottom suspension hole, visible in the catalogue illustration. Small chips and erosion as a result of age and use; a break at the very top of the mask, visible in the catalogue illustration.
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Ce masque, de conception et d'ancienneté remarquables, se rattache à un corpus bien identifié de puissants masques à nez en forme de bec d'oiseaux que l'on observe sur la côte occidentale du Sepik, depuis l'embouchure du fleuve jusqu'aux îles Seleo. Si leur signification et leur fonction précises demeurent inconnues – variant selon les populations, les villages et les groupes initiateurs -, ils sont en revanche couramment interprétés comme la représentation d'esprits mi-hommes, mi-oiseaux.

Celui-ci se distingue par l'exceptionnelle tension des courbes, accentuant la puissance des volumes projetés dans l'espace. Se gonflant jusqu'à absorber dans sa courbe les yeux en aplat bridé, le front hémisphérique se resserre sous la tension de la nervure médiane, dont la ligne se prolonge dans le mouvement du nez busqué, rejoint à sa pointe par les ailes en crochet. cf. Rijksmuseum Kroller Muller (1990 : 229, n° 86) pour un masque de la région des îles Schouten, offrant dans la projection du front et la tension des volumes, une conception comparable. 

La densité du jeu de courbes et de contre-courbes est accentuée par la richesse de la patine sombre, dont l'épaisseur et les nuances brunes et brun-rouge témoignent des repeints successifs, et de la très longue histoire de son utilisation. Selon Kjellgren (2007 : 106, n° 63) ces masques, sculptés dans un bois dur, étaient conservés et réutilisés durant de nombreuses années, et périodiquement repeints lors de cérémonies importantes.

Mask, Tumleo or Ali peoples, Sandaun Province, West Sepik River Coast, Papua New Guinea

This mask, which is of remarkable design and antiquity, is part of a well-known corpus of masks with bird beak like noses, found along the west coast of the Sepik River in an area that extends from the mouth of the river all the way up to the Seleo Islands. Whilst the precise meaning and function of these masks remains unknown and may vary amongst different populations, villages and initiation groups, they are generally considered to represent a spirit which is half-man and half-bird.

 

The offered mask is distinguished by the exceptional power of its curves, which accentuate the power of the projecting volumes. The form swells outwards and absorbs into its curve the flat, slanting eyes. The hemispherical forehead tightens under the tension of the median ridge, the line of which extends into the curve of the hooked nose. cf. Rijksmuseum Kroller Muller (1990: 229, No. 86) for a mask from the Schouten Islands of similar conception and volume.

The dense play of curves and counter-curves is enhanced by the rich dark patina, encrusted with layers and layers of paint in shades of brown and brownish-red which testify to the mask's prolonged use. According to Kjellgren (2007: 106, No. 63) these hard-wood masks were preserved and re-used over the course of many years, and periodically repainted for use in important ceremonies.