Sawos Mask-Sepik River-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Pre-contact Sawos Mask
Sawos culture, Sepik Plains, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Ludwig Bretschneider, Munich
Harry A. Franklin (O422), Beverly Hills
Sotheby’s New York, Pacific Art from the Collection of Harry A. Franklin, 13 May 2019, lot 65
Published: Art of New Guinea: Sepik, Maprik and Highlands, Los Angeles, 1967, no. 63, p. 33
Exhibited: The Ethnic Art Galleries, University of California, Los Angeles, Art of New Guinea: Sepik, Maprik and Highlands, November 6–December 30, 1967
University Art Museum, University of Texas at Austin, circa April 1–30, 1968
Pre-contact, stone-carved, 19th century
17 ½” (44.4 cm) in height
It is highly probable this mask was attached to a large tumbuan dance costume.