- 25
Masque, Île de Pentecôte, Vanuatu
Estimate
60,000 - 90,000 EUR
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Description
- Île de Pentecôte
- Masque
- haut. 60 cm
- 23 5/8 in
Provenance
Collection Francesco Pellizi, New York
Collection Carlo Monzino, Castagnola
Sotheby's, New York, 19 mai 2001, n° 18 et couverture
Collection privée
Collection Carlo Monzino, Castagnola
Sotheby's, New York, 19 mai 2001, n° 18 et couverture
Collection privée
Exhibited
Bruxelles, Espace culturel ING, Océanie. Signes de rites, symboles de pouvoir, 23 octobre 2008 - 15 mars 2009
Ancien numéro d'inventaire - 3140 - inscrit à l'encre blanche sur le front.
Ancien numéro d'inventaire - 3140 - inscrit à l'encre blanche sur le front.
Literature
Barbier-Mueller, "La vérité est ailleurs" in Arts & Cultures, n° 3, 2002, p. 308, n° 1
ING, Océanie. Signes de rites, symboles d'autorité, 2008, p. 113, n° 107
ING, Océanie. Signes de rites, symboles d'autorité, 2008, p. 113, n° 107
Condition
Please refer to the department, + 33 1 53 05 52 67, alexis.maggiar@sothebys.com
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Cette œuvre - d'une force et d'une ancienneté remarquables - s'inscrit dans le corpus très restreint (une vingtaine répertoriée) des masques collectés vers le tournant du XXe siècle dans le sud de l'île de Pentecôte (au nord de l'archipel du Vanuatu). S'ils sont très peu documentés, l'on pense que ces masques, de style juban/chubwan, jouaient un rôle important dans les rituels témoignant du lien sacré entre les hommes et les tubercules d'igname (Huffman in Bonnemaison, 1996, p. 23).
Ils sont le plus souvent répartis en deux styles, dont les archétypes ont été collectés par Speiser entre 1910 et 1912, et sont conservés au Museum für Völkerkunde de Bâle : le premier au visage très étroit (inv. Vb 4560) ; le second en large ovale, dont les lèvres, soulignant la courbe du menton, s'étirent jusqu'aux tempes (inv. Vb 4562). Celui-ci se distingue par la face sculptée en deux dimensions, dont l'ample mouvement se prolonge jusqu'à l'extrémité du tenon (évoquant les masques du nord-est de Malakula). A la force remarquable des traits - en particulier le volume exceptionnel du nez ajouré - répond la beauté des formes aux contours incertains.
Dans le contraste magistral entre les aplats et les volumes projetés en haut-relief, ce masque s'apparente au premier des masques Speiser (cf. supra, inv. 4560, reproduit dans Bonnemaison, idem : 24, n° 29), et à celui anciennement dans la collection George Ortiz (Sotheby's, Londres, 29 juin 1978, n° 119). Voir également Sotheby's (Paris, 11 juin 2008, n° 57) pour le masque juban/chubwan de l'île de Pentecôte, collecté par le Révérend Alexander Sandy Morton entre 1887 et 1892, et dont le menton se prolonge par une longue prise permettant au porteur de maintenir le masque sur son visage.
En 2006, un autre masque de Pentecôte ayant appartenu au Révérend Morton avait révélé, par analyse au C14, une ancienneté remontant au XVIIe ou au début du XVIIIe siècle (Sotheby's, New York, 17 novembre 2006, n° 234). Ici, si l'ancien numéro d'inventaire inscrit à l'encre blanche ne nous a pas suffi pour retracer l'histoire de sa collecte, la profondeur de la patine et l'aspect presque pétrifié du bois à l'arrière attestent également la très grande ancienneté de ce masque.
Pentecost Island mask, Vanuatu
This piece - the forcefulness and age of which are remarkable - is part of a very restricted corpus of masks (twenty listed) collected towards the turn of the 20th century in the southern part of Pentecost Island (north of the Vanuatu archipelago). Although poorly documented, it is believed that these juban / chubwan style masks played an important role in rituals celebrating the sacred bond between men and yam tubers (Huffman in Bonnemaison, 1996, p. 23).
They are usually subdivided into two styles, the archetypes of which were collected by Speiser between 1910 and 1912 and are now kept at the Museum für Völkerkunde Basel: the first style of masks display a very narrow face (inv. Vb 4560); the second have a large oval face, with lips that emphasize the curve of the chin and stretch out to the temples (inv. Vb 4562). This piece is particularly remarkable for its face, which is carved in two dimensions and whose ample movement extends as far the tip of the tenon (recalling masks from north-eastern Malakula). The compelling forcefulness of the features - especially the fascinating openwork design of the nose - is mirrored in the beauty of the indistinctly outlined shapes.
The striking contrast between flat areas and high-relief projected volumes makes this mask similar to the first Speiser masks in a number of respects (cf. supra, inv. 4560, reproduced in Bonnemaison, ibid: 24, lot 29), and to the one that was previously part of the George Ortiz Collection (Sotheby's, London, 29 June 1978, lot 119). See also Sotheby's (Paris, 11 June 2008, lot 57) for the juban/chubwan Pentecost Island mask, collected by Reverend Alexander Sandy Morton between 1887 and 1892, and whose chin extends into a long socket allowing the wearer to hold the mask in place on his face.
In 2006, another Pentecost mask having belonged to Reverend Morton was revealed by C14 analysis to date from the 17th or early 18th century (Sotheby's, New York, 17 November 2006, lot 234). In the present case, although the former inventory number written in white ink did not suffice to trace the history of its collection, the depth of the patina and the almost petrified aspect of the wood on the back also attest to the great age of this mask.
Ils sont le plus souvent répartis en deux styles, dont les archétypes ont été collectés par Speiser entre 1910 et 1912, et sont conservés au Museum für Völkerkunde de Bâle : le premier au visage très étroit (inv. Vb 4560) ; le second en large ovale, dont les lèvres, soulignant la courbe du menton, s'étirent jusqu'aux tempes (inv. Vb 4562). Celui-ci se distingue par la face sculptée en deux dimensions, dont l'ample mouvement se prolonge jusqu'à l'extrémité du tenon (évoquant les masques du nord-est de Malakula). A la force remarquable des traits - en particulier le volume exceptionnel du nez ajouré - répond la beauté des formes aux contours incertains.
Dans le contraste magistral entre les aplats et les volumes projetés en haut-relief, ce masque s'apparente au premier des masques Speiser (cf. supra, inv. 4560, reproduit dans Bonnemaison, idem : 24, n° 29), et à celui anciennement dans la collection George Ortiz (Sotheby's, Londres, 29 juin 1978, n° 119). Voir également Sotheby's (Paris, 11 juin 2008, n° 57) pour le masque juban/chubwan de l'île de Pentecôte, collecté par le Révérend Alexander Sandy Morton entre 1887 et 1892, et dont le menton se prolonge par une longue prise permettant au porteur de maintenir le masque sur son visage.
En 2006, un autre masque de Pentecôte ayant appartenu au Révérend Morton avait révélé, par analyse au C14, une ancienneté remontant au XVIIe ou au début du XVIIIe siècle (Sotheby's, New York, 17 novembre 2006, n° 234). Ici, si l'ancien numéro d'inventaire inscrit à l'encre blanche ne nous a pas suffi pour retracer l'histoire de sa collecte, la profondeur de la patine et l'aspect presque pétrifié du bois à l'arrière attestent également la très grande ancienneté de ce masque.
Pentecost Island mask, Vanuatu
This piece - the forcefulness and age of which are remarkable - is part of a very restricted corpus of masks (twenty listed) collected towards the turn of the 20th century in the southern part of Pentecost Island (north of the Vanuatu archipelago). Although poorly documented, it is believed that these juban / chubwan style masks played an important role in rituals celebrating the sacred bond between men and yam tubers (Huffman in Bonnemaison, 1996, p. 23).
They are usually subdivided into two styles, the archetypes of which were collected by Speiser between 1910 and 1912 and are now kept at the Museum für Völkerkunde Basel: the first style of masks display a very narrow face (inv. Vb 4560); the second have a large oval face, with lips that emphasize the curve of the chin and stretch out to the temples (inv. Vb 4562). This piece is particularly remarkable for its face, which is carved in two dimensions and whose ample movement extends as far the tip of the tenon (recalling masks from north-eastern Malakula). The compelling forcefulness of the features - especially the fascinating openwork design of the nose - is mirrored in the beauty of the indistinctly outlined shapes.
The striking contrast between flat areas and high-relief projected volumes makes this mask similar to the first Speiser masks in a number of respects (cf. supra, inv. 4560, reproduced in Bonnemaison, ibid: 24, lot 29), and to the one that was previously part of the George Ortiz Collection (Sotheby's, London, 29 June 1978, lot 119). See also Sotheby's (Paris, 11 June 2008, lot 57) for the juban/chubwan Pentecost Island mask, collected by Reverend Alexander Sandy Morton between 1887 and 1892, and whose chin extends into a long socket allowing the wearer to hold the mask in place on his face.
In 2006, another Pentecost mask having belonged to Reverend Morton was revealed by C14 analysis to date from the 17th or early 18th century (Sotheby's, New York, 17 November 2006, lot 234). In the present case, although the former inventory number written in white ink did not suffice to trace the history of its collection, the depth of the patina and the almost petrified aspect of the wood on the back also attest to the great age of this mask.