20th C. Papua New Guinea Elema Wood & Cloth Eharo Mask
**Originally Listed At $400**
Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Papuan Gulf, Orokolo Bay, Western Elema peoples, ca. early to mid 20th century CE. A fabulous example of an "eharo" (dance mask) composed of an internal wooden framework secured with slender reed strands. The cloth exterior boasts a white-painted surface with an expressive face boasting openwork eyes, a bar-shaped nose with a rod-adorned septum, a pair of drop-form eyes meant to hold additional ornamentation, and painted tassels suggestive of teeth. The size of the mask, the orientation of the eyes, and the interior framework suggest this mask was worn as a headdress atop a large costume. Size: 13.875" W x 31.125" H (35.2 cm x 79.1 cm).
According to the curatorial team of the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), "Eharo (dance masks) are one of three types of masks made by the Western Elema people of the Papuan Gulf. They are made and worn as part of the Hevehe, a grand cycle of ceremonies that dominated the ceremonial and artistic life of the Elema people during the early twentieth century. The cycle was both an initiation of men into the mysteries of the Hevehe itself and a way of making peace with the dangerous spirits of the forest and sea." (https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/163447)
Provenance: private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection, acquired between 1950 and 1985
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#147952
Condition Report: Repairs to periphery around nose, with stitching along tear lines of cloth. Loosening to some fiber wraps and wooden frame components, with chipping and fading to original pigmentation. Nice traces of original pigmentation and light earthen deposits throughout.
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**Originally Listed At $400**
Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Papuan Gulf, Orokolo Bay, Western Elema peoples, ca. early to mid 20th century CE. A fabulous example of an "eharo" (dance mask) composed of an internal wooden framework secured with slender reed strands. The cloth exterior boasts a white-painted surface with an expressive face boasting openwork eyes, a bar-shaped nose with a rod-adorned septum, a pair of drop-form eyes meant to hold additional ornamentation, and painted tassels suggestive of teeth. The size of the mask, the orientation of the eyes, and the interior framework suggest this mask was worn as a headdress atop a large costume. Size: 13.875" W x 31.125" H (35.2 cm x 79.1 cm).
According to the curatorial team of the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongarewa), "Eharo (dance masks) are one of three types of masks made by the Western Elema people of the Papuan Gulf. They are made and worn as part of the Hevehe, a grand cycle of ceremonies that dominated the ceremonial and artistic life of the Elema people during the early twentieth century. The cycle was both an initiation of men into the mysteries of the Hevehe itself and a way of making peace with the dangerous spirits of the forest and sea." (https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/163447)
Provenance: private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection, acquired between 1950 and 1985
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#147952
Condition Report: Repairs to periphery around nose, with stitching along tear lines of cloth. Loosening to some fiber wraps and wooden frame components, with chipping and fading to original pigmentation. Nice traces of original pigmentation and light earthen deposits throughout.
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