A RARE MALE WOODEN MASK

Estimated Value:

1.500 € - 2.500 €

Result:

5.827 € incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

East Timor, possibly Atauro
H. 25,5 cm
On the island of Timor, a special tradition of dance masks has developed, whose exact origin and meaning,is often uncertain. The available information suggests that many of the masks originated in Timor-Leste (East Timor). They represented both male and female ancestors and were worn by men at dances and other ceremonies, including war victory celebrations. The masks were usually painted and decorated with strips of fur or bristles to represent facial hair, and worn with a headdress or hood that covered the head and further concealed the identity of the dancer. Wood with a heavily encrusted patina, tooth inlays in the area of the slightly open mouth and coloured glass inlays in the area of the eyes. The Atoni people belong to the largest ethnic group in the islands of Timor, native to both West Timor and Western Timor-Leste. The Atoni use two different types of masks in their cult. The type of ancestor masks is dedicated to funerals, initiations and victory celebrations, while the other type of masks is designed in the manner of a foreskin mask, in the manner of a "second face". It is assumed that this type of mask could clear up a theft within the village community. The thief would hold the mask in front of his face when accusations were made, so that the mask became the accused, and the accused himself could "keep face" and thus the person could be acquitted.... Some masks were made of perishable materials, but specimens made of wood, like this heavily patinated work, were preserved and reused many times.
Important Bavarian private collection, purchased prior 2000
Published: Galerie Alain Schoffel, 'Primitifs Art Tribal - Art Moderne', No. 4, May/ June 1991, p. 59.

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