Collection
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Title
Gable mask from house façade
mid 20th century
Artist
attrib. Kapriman people
Papua New Guinea
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About
The basketry mask is placed on the gable of the ceremonial house by the people living in the middle Sepik area. Sometimes it is woven as part of the structure. Bateson (Gregory Bateson, 'Social structure of the Iatmul people of the Sepik River', Oceania, 2: 259, 1932), says they are the female personification of the house. It is possible that this object was made for sale but it still appears to embody the best qualities of Sepik River art. It is made of cane, painted red, white and black, decorated with cassowary feathers around the eyes, and the nose ornament is of wood.
revised entry from AJ Tuckson, 'Some Sepik River art from the collection', AGNSW Quarterly, vol 13, no 3, 1972, pg. 671.
Details
Other Title
Gable mask
Date
mid 20th century
Materials used
woven rattan cane, red, white and black natural pigments, cassowary feathers, carved wood
Dimensions
181.5 x 99.5 x 54.0 cm :
0 - Whole; 181.5 cm
0 - Whole; 99.5 cm
0 - Whole; 54 cm
Credit
Purchased 1964
Location
Not on display
Accession number
IA13.1964
Copyright
© Kapriman people, under the endorsement of the Pacific Islands Museums Association's (PIMA) Code of Ethics
URL / Share
attrib. Kapriman people
Gable mask from house façade
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Exhibition history
Melanesian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Apr 1966–22 May 1966
Aboriginal and Melanesian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Oct 1974 -
Referenced in 7 publications
Bibliography
JA Tuckson, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, 'Some Sepik River art from the collection', pg. 666-679, Sydney, Apr 1972, 668, 671, 676 (illus.). plate no. 10
Tony Tuckson, Art and Australia, 'Primitive art collection', pg. 76-79, Sydney, Jul 1972, 79 (illus.). Image of work in the 'Primitive Gallery' at the AGNSW in 1972, with other works from the collection.
Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly (vol. 13, no. 4), Sydney, Jul 1972, 697 (illus.). "The primitive art area is temporarily situated on the first floor. Exhibits are from the Sepik River, New Guinea, along with a grave-symbol figure from New Hebrides, in the left foreground". The 'Gable mask' is seen on the wall, together with other works collected by Tuckson in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Aboriginal and Melanesian art, Sydney, 1973, 45. cat.no. 83
Melanesian art, Sydney, 1966, front cover (illus.), 12. cat.no. 118
Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly, Sydney, Apr 1965, 232 (illus.).
1964 Acquisitions, Sydney, 1964, 62. cat.no. 112