A DAYAK POLYCHROME WOOD HUDOQ MASK, 20TH CENTURY

A DAYAK POLYCHROME WOOD HUDOQ MASK, 20TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Indonesia, Central Borneo, East Kalimantan. Boldly carved, of oval form and slightly concave section, defined by circular eyes, a prominent pointed nose, and a pronounced beak-like mouth held open to reveal a protruding, fleshy tongue, as well as a sharply tapered chin. The visage is flanked by curled lateral elements, surmounted by horns and secured to the mask with plant fibers. The frontal surface is strikingly decorated in red, white, and black pigments, arranged in a variety of geometric patterns and motifs.

Provenance: Laurits Sunde, Denmark, by 1970. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 56 years.The provenance establishes that this object was located in Europe before the UNESCO 1970 Convention entered into force.

Laurits "Lau" Sunde (1910-1979) was an important Danish collector and dealer who played a pioneering role in introducing African art to Denmark and the wider Nordic region. He is particularly remembered for his interest in Yoruba art and culture, especially ere ibeji twin figures, which he promoted not only as works of art but also as expressions of the spiritual and ritual traditions of the Yoruba people.

Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.

Important Note: For essential information on the

Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger

Condition: Good condition with expected wear, traces of use, rubbing and flaking to pigments with associated light touchups, few minor chips.

Weight: 538.4 g
Dimensions: Height 36.6 cm

Hudoq

designates a cycle of annual ceremonial performances associated with the rice harvest and the agricultural calendar, particularly the planting of rice, in Central Borneo, in the province of East Kalimantan. The term is also widely used to refer to a masking ritual tradition practiced within these ceremonies, which, according to local belief systems, serve to secure the fertility of the land, ensure human fecundity, and safeguard the overall well-being of the community.

The Hudoq dance is typically performed each year following the rice sowing ritual (menugal) in the fields. Its purpose is to invoke divine blessing upon the newly planted rice, ensuring an abundant harvest and thereby sustaining communal prosperity. These performances may last for several hours, after which order is restored and the land is ritually renewed and made fertile once again.

Classical Hudoq masks among the Dayak are generally characterized by the depiction of a long-nosed supernatural being with enlarged ears and prominent, often reflective, round eyes. The headdresses commonly take the form of woven wicker caps adorned with the luxuriant feathers of hornbills or Argus pheasants.

Expert's note:
Hudoq dancers wearing masks related to the present lot are captured in a film titled Het Land van de Hoedo from 1948, available on YouTube, which documents aspects of Dayak Bahau daily life in the upper Mahakam River region of East Kalimantan. At approximately 8:36 and from 8:56 onwards, Hudoq dancers can be seen dressed in stitched costumes made of banana and areca palm leaves and bearing masks similar to the present lot. In these scenes, the performers appear as gesturing and moving embodiments of deities, believed to cleanse the land of pests and disease and to appease the spirits of the rice fields.

Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LROXUgHTf-g

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Dayak hudoq mask, dated late 19th early 20th century, 45.7 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1988.143.77. Compare a closely related Dayak hudoq mask, dated 20th century, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Compare a closely related Dayak hudoq mask, dated c. 1920, 43 cm high, sold at Michael Backman Ltd., London, inventory number 2585.

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