Title
Solkeo pe engelop (gourd mask)
mid 20th century
collected 1969
Artist
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Details
- Other Title
- Gourd mask
- Place where the work was made
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Mendi
→
Southern Highlands Province
→
Papua New Guinea
- Cultural origin
- Mendi people
- Dates
- mid 20th century
collected 1969 - Media categories
- Ceremonial object , Mixed media
- Materials used
- gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), human hair, burr seeds, oil, plant resin, red pigment, coix seeds (Coix lacryma-jobi), plant fibres
- Dimensions
- 44.0 x 17.0 x 8.5 cm
- Credit
- Purchased 1977
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 239.1977
- Copyright
- © Mendi people, under the endorsement of the Pacific Islands Museums Association's (PIMA) Code of Ethics
- Artist information
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Mendi people
Works in the collection
- Share
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About
'Solkeo pe engelop' masks were worn by fierce warriors who had taken many lives in battle. They were created from the hardened outer skin of the 'pe engelop' (bottle gourd), or calabash, and adorned with seed burrs and human hair. 'Solkeo' refers to a malevolent mythical figure that cannibalised its victims. Worn on rare occasions by one or two men during the annual mol dance, these masks symbolised evil power as well as courage and strength. Long lengths of tree moss also concealed the bodies of the masked men and their legs were covered in white clay.
The Mendi people thought their Lake Kutuban neighbours were headhunters and referred to them as 'solkeo'. These masks resemble face designs worn during Lake Kutuban dance ceremonies. Mendi men travelled to Lake Kutubu to trade for 'tigaso' tree oil and may have adopted these decorations into their own ceremonies, symbolising the fierce warriors who had killed Mendi in battle.
[Exhibition text for 'Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands', AGNSW, 2014]
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Places
Where the work was made
Mendi
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 30 May 2014–10 Aug 2014
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Bibliography
Referenced in 4 publications
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Lynn Chua, Microchemical Journal, 'FTIR and Raman microscopy of organic binders and extraneous organic materials on painted ceremonial objects from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea', pg. 246-256, Amsterdam, 2017, 248, 250, 252.
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Theodore Mawe, Mendi culture and tradition: a recent survey, Port Moresby, 1985. general reference to Mendi culture and information about 'solkeo pe engelop'
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Tony Tuckson, Aboriginal and Melanesian art, Sydney, 1973, 49. cat.no. H1
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Natalie Wilson (Editor), Plumes and pearlshells: art of the New Guinea highlands, Sydney, 2014, 75 (colour illus.), 160. cat.no. 22
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