Coastal Ramu River Mask-J.J. Klejman-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Here is an old, pre-contact, stone-carved mask from the Coastal Ramu River area of Papua New Guinea. This area is known for its large bulging eyes with pinpoint irises, long curved noses and of course the red pigmentation. This one also has a fine pursed mouth, pierced ears and nostrils and a bite stick still attached to the reverse. The mask has an old inventory number on the reverse painted in white—71783. The mask is ex. J. J. Klejman and ex. Bruce Frank but the number is probably from a German museum as Klejman seemed to have a number of former German museum New Guinea pieces back in the 1960s. Bruce Frank published the mask in his “Indo-Pacific Art” catalog from 2018. The piece is 19 1/8” (48.5 cm) in height.