Pre-contact Keram River Mask-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Here is a very old Keram River mask—as many of you know the Keram River is a southern tributary of the Lower Sepik River. The mask has deep set eyes with an overhanging brow that bends around encircling the eyes and joins into a long pointed nose with large open nostrils. There are nice remains of white facial paint, a cane beard and the mask has numerous large holes where the mask was lashed to a larger dance costume—these enormous holes are only seen on the earliest examples. This mask is early 20th century for sure if not earlier and was illustrated in a Bonhams Knightbridge auction catalog of 21 June 2000, lot 133. The mask 20” (51.0 cm) in height.