NGALA CEREMONIAL MASK, SEPIK AND APRIL RIVERS, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Alex Philips, Melbourne
Anthony Meyer, Paris
Marcia and John Friede, New York, acquired from the above

Formed of tree bark by a Ngala artist in northern New Guinea, this mask was used in the mbangk ceremony which took place once a year during the dry season. Representing a water spirit, it was worn by a dancer inside a men's ceremonial house as bamboo instruments were struck upon the ground.  A closely related mask, also from the JOLIKA Collection, was sold at Sotheby's Paris, December 5, 2007, lot 145 and is today in the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris.  Other related masks are in the National Museum and Art Gallery, Port Moresby (Newton 1971: 48) and the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin (Kelm 1966, vol. I: 18, fig. 18).