IATMUL, WOLIAGWI SUBGROUP, GABLE MASK, KARARAU VILLAGE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Olivier Le Corneur and Jean Roudillon, Paris
John J. Klejman, New York
Marcia and John Friede, New York, acquired from the above

Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, de Young Museum, San Francisco, October 15, 2005 - February 14, 2010

Madeleine Rousseau, Guillaume Apollinaire and Tristan Tzara, L'art Océanien: Sa Présence (Collection Le Musée Vivant), Paris, 1951, fig. 5
John A. Friede et al. (ed.), New Guinea Art: Masterpieces from the Jolika Collection of Marcia and John Friede, San Francisco, 2005, pp. 202 (vol. 1) and 110 (vol. 2), cat. 172

Good stable condition for an object of this age and type. Wear around original holes for attachment (one through forehead and two below tongue), and a loss to the proper left hole below tongue as seen in photograph. Abrasions and losses to pigment throughout as seen in photograph. Marks, nicks, scratches throughout. Chipping and erosion around edges, some insect damage. Fine layered patina with red and white pigment. The reverse with two holes drilled at top center and two holes at middle, as well as an old eye hook just below the original hole at top, from old mounts. Now fitted with a metal sleeve for attachment to base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Friede (2005: 110, text to cat. 172), the present mask was dated 1660-1890 AD (95.4% probability) using radiocarbon dating.  It is the work of an artist of the Woliagwi subgroup of the Iatmul people in the Kararau village on the middle Sepik River in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.  Friede (loc. cit.) notes: "Such masks were attached to the facades of both the family and ceremonial houses but differing in size.  It is probable that [the present mask] derives from a family house.  Gable masks of family houses 'embodied female, clan-specific spirit beings, who were supposed to protect the inhabitants of the house from disaster' (Greub 1985: 184, no. 34).  The motif of the protruding tongue is intended to repel enemies and hostile spirits (Davis and Davis 1974: 45)."