Murik Lakes Mask-Ledoux-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Murik Lakes Mask, brag
Murik Lakes, Coastal Sepik River area, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Collected 1936 by Louis Pierre Ledoux
Pre-contact, stone-carved, 17th to 19th century (carbon dated)
19” (48.2 cm) in height
I have not seen this style before, but masks manifest specific individual spirits with particular roles and associated histories that vary from clan to clan, village to village, area to area. Thus, the variations of form can be substantial, especially with a mask seven or eight generations old, as is this one.
The backside of the mask is as old as I have ever encountered.