Sepik Mwei Mask Ornament

Exceptional headdress/mask ornament composed of a basketry, double ancestor face in Janus woven in high relief. The expressive and smiling faces are topped by a corolla bristling with spikes. A long, flexible rod supports the whole.
Iatmul Region, Middle Sepik, PNG, Melanesia.
Rattan, wood and traces of pigments.
22 x 35 cm
19/20th century

 

Provenance Provenance :
Collected during the La Korrigane expedition (1934/1936).
Collection Océanienne du Voyage de la Korrigane, Hôtel Drouot- Paris, Maurice & Philippe Rheims - auctioneers, Jean Roudillon - expert, 4th & 5th December 1961, no lot number (end of sale boxes).
Ex Pierre Robin 1988 (invoice date) or 1985 (date on a lable) 
Ex collection Paul & Jacqueline Duchein, Montauban