Singarin mask Bas Sepik, Papua New Guinea Wood Height:... Lot 62

Singarin mask Bas Sepik, Papua New Guinea Wood Height: 27, 4 cm Provenance Roberta Nochimson, New York French private collection Unmistakably different from the classic stylistic corpus of masks from the region near the mouth of the Sepik River, often characterized by a long, lanky face and imposing nose, this mask with its softer, more delicate features, rendered by its oval-shaped face, played a primordial role in rites of passage to adulthood, embodying a powerful ancestor-spirit. A sacred intermediary between the ancestor it represented and the person who owned it, it was alternately exhibited at ceremonial dances, or preciously preserved in the "House of Men", a place of worship and transmission of knowledge. They were also displayed at ceremonial dances. The harmony and softness of its oval curves, reinforced by its concave shape, is skilfully contrasted with the power of its serious, austere expressivity conferred by its pinched mouth. Her eyes, magnified by the raised superciliary arches, are hollowed out, tapered and almost pleated, piercing the viewer and seeming to probe the world of the living with acuity. Beautiful patina ranging from auburn to darker brown. For a comparable work from the Pierre Langlois Collection.