New Ireland Tatanua Mask-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
While the classic New Ireland tatanua masks are well known for their tall, distinctive crested headdresses; these are often very fragile and easily damaged. Thus, one occasionally comes across just the wooden face section minus the crest—such as the present example. On its own the face portion is quite beautiful with a fine painted design. The operculum shell eyes are slightly askew intensifying the unsettling expression. The piece is 8 ¾” (22.2 cm) in height, dates to the early 20th century.