Melanesian Artefacts :

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People: Angoram people

Linguistic Family: Angoram Language, Pondo Family, Nor-Pondo Super-Stock, Lower Sepik Sub-Phylum.

District or Village: Kanduaman, Lower Sepik River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.

Collected: Collected by a missionary whilst stationed at Torembi in 1972. This piece was then brought to Melbourne in 1974 and placed in the care of family friends.

Description: A fine weave mask made of rattan with a crescent dish-like face. A woven column extends from the top of the head with a pincer-like claw, bent at right angles, inserted into the top of the column. At the lower end of the face the rattan weave is also extended to form the neck of the mask. The mask is attached to the remains of a sea snail shell through the neck of the mask by a coarse rattan binding.

The clay base covering of the mask has flaked away in a number of areas but sufficient base remains to see the detail of the mask face which has been painted using black and white pigments on a red base.

Size and Material: The overall height of the mask from the claw to the bottom of the neck is 280mm. The face has a height of 150mm and a width of 100mm. Rattan, shell, vegetable fibre, clay, and black, white and red pigments.

History: The shell of the bridal wealth piece would have come from the coast north of the Prince Alexander mountains and would have been traded with the Boiken people of Yangoru by either the coastal Boiken or Arapesh people. The fine weave work of the mask and the construction and decoration of the bridal price would have been carried out at Yangoru. Once completed the bridal price would have been traded to any of the surrounding tribes in exchange for other goods.

Provenance: Private Collection 1972 to 1990. Acquired through Tribal Art Gallery, Melbourne in 1990.

Old Catalogue No.: #45082/3; SPK026; ML0062.

Reference:

Greub, Suzanne (editor). Authority and Ornament - ART OF THE SEPIK RIVER - Papua New Guinea. Tribal Art Centre , Basel, 1985. (pl.103 for comparison)