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A visage découvert !
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A visage découvert !
Julien Flak
Kachina Doll
Archives | Arizona
Kachina Doll
Arizona
Kweo Katsina – Wolf Kachina doll
Hopi
Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments and feathers
Circa 1900-1910
Height: 8 ½. in. (21.5 cm)
Ex collection Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe
Old inventory number under the base : MNCA & 49/5
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Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
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Gope
Archives | Papua New Guinea
Gope
Papua New Guinea
Gope spirit board
Papuan Gulf
Carved wood, pigments
Early 20th century
Height: 50 ¼ in. (127 cm)
Ex collection Paul Wirz (1892-1955), Basel, acquired in the early 1930s
Photographed in situ circa 1930, published in 1934 and 1953
Ex collection Kevin Conru, Brussels
Ex Sotheby’s Paris, December 2019 lot 16
Ex private collection, Spain
Published:
Dresden Museum, « Beiträge zur Ethnographie des Papua-Golfes, Britisch-Neuguinea », in Abhandlungen und Berichte der Museen für Tierkunde und Völkerkunde zu Dresden Band XIX, Paul Wirz, 1934, plate XIX fig. 1 (photograph in situ)
Weltvagant im Urwald und auf der Savanne, Paul Wirz, Universum Verlag Zurich, 1953, cover & page 80
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As described in the reference book on the arts and cultures of the Gulf of Papua, Coaxing the Spirits to Dance (Hood Museum & the Metropolitan Museum of Art), wood sculpture in the region was primarily two-dimensional, consisting of board-like carvings, known as spirit boards (gope or kopé) and bioma figures with designs in low relief.
In the past, the primary focus of religious and artistic life in the region was on powerful spirits called imunu. Each imunu typically was associated with a specific location in the landscape, rivers, or sea, and was linked to the specific clan within whose territory it dwelt. Villages formerly had large communal men's houses divided into cubicles, each allotted to a particular clan or subclan. Every cubicle contained a clan shrine, which housed the gope spirit boards, figures, human and animal skulls, and other sacred objects associated with the clan's various imunu.
In July 1930, the Swiss anthropologist and collector Paul Wirz settled for several months in the Papuan Gulf, near the Era River. On one of his field photographs, the gope board presented here appears (opposite page, on the lower left hand side).
In the past, the primary focus of religious and artistic life in the region was on powerful spirits called imunu. Each imunu typically was associated with a specific location in the landscape, rivers, or sea, and was linked to the specific clan within whose territory it dwelt. Villages formerly had large communal men's houses divided into cubicles, each allotted to a particular clan or subclan. Every cubicle contained a clan shrine, which housed the gope spirit boards, figures, human and animal skulls, and other sacred objects associated with the clan's various imunu.
In July 1930, the Swiss anthropologist and collector Paul Wirz settled for several months in the Papuan Gulf, near the Era River. On one of his field photographs, the gope board presented here appears (opposite page, on the lower left hand side).
Publication
Documentation
Altar – Era River Photograph by Paul Wirz 1930
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York
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Archives
Yup’ik mask
Archives | Alaska
Yup’ik mask
Alaska
Nunivak Island
Yup’ik (Eskimo), Alaska
Mid-20th century
Carved wood and pigments
Diameter: 10 ¼ in. (26 cm)
Provenance
Ex private collection, Vancouver, Canada
Ex collection Richard Bahnman, Canada
Ex private collection, France
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The Subarctic region inhabited by the Yup'ik is well supplied with land and sea resources allowing for much time that could be devoted to a full ceremonial life. After freeze-up in the winter, performance cycles were undertaken that were important to maintaining proper human, animal, and spirit-world interactions. Performed inside the qasgiq (communal men's house) during festivals, dances feature face and finger masks that make visible the world of helping spirits and extraordinary beings, and are specially made to tell particular stories. Often used by shamans to facilitate communication and movement between worlds (human and animal, the living and the dead), Yup'ik masks usually were discarded after use.
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Iroquois
Archives | U.S.A.
Iroquois
U.S.A.
False Face mask
Iroquois people
Northeast, USA
Carved wood, pigments and horsehair
Early 20th century
Height: 11 in. (28 cm)
Ex private collection, Albuquerque, USA
Published: Faces, visible - invisible, April 2021
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The Iroquois (now known as Haudenosaunee) Confederacy, a classical matriarchal state, consisted of the Mohawk, Seneca, Onongada, Cayuga, Oneida and Tuscarora Nations. Their ancestral homelands included Northern and Western New York, parts of Ontario and Quebec, and a sphere of influence that extended to Virginia and Illinois.
Wood-carved masks were the most distinctive manifestations of Iroquois religious art. The mask shown here is associated with the False Faces, the most prominent Iroquois medicinal society.
Such masks were used during communal healing rituals which focused on driving out disease / misfortune and restoring balance. False Face spirits were also said to be called upon in times of personal need.
False Face practitioners wore masks and carried large rattles made from a turtle shell. They spread pieces of coal and ashes and blew smoke on the sick persons.
Individuals who had dreamed of the False Faces and those who had been healed by them became de facto members of the society. The first Western accounts of False Face rituals date back to the late 17th century, and the tradition and ceremonies continued well into the 20th century.
Wood-carved masks were the most distinctive manifestations of Iroquois religious art. The mask shown here is associated with the False Faces, the most prominent Iroquois medicinal society.
Such masks were used during communal healing rituals which focused on driving out disease / misfortune and restoring balance. False Face spirits were also said to be called upon in times of personal need.
False Face practitioners wore masks and carried large rattles made from a turtle shell. They spread pieces of coal and ashes and blew smoke on the sick persons.
Individuals who had dreamed of the False Faces and those who had been healed by them became de facto members of the society. The first Western accounts of False Face rituals date back to the late 17th century, and the tradition and ceremonies continued well into the 20th century.
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Lwalwa Mask
Archives | Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lwalwa Mask
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mfondo Mask
Carved wood and pigments
Early 20th century
Height: 15 ¾ in. (40 cm)
Ex collection Bernard Cosyns, Antwerp
Ex Galerie Gregory Verdonck, Brussels
Ex collection Jo de Buck, Brussels
Sol d
This superb Lwalwa female mask, called Mfondo, is remarkable in terms of its power and stylized construction. Lwalwa (or Lwalu) art is most famous for the powerful, highly cubistic masks of which this work is a magnificent example with perfect proportion and elegant lines. The nose recalls the long beak of a calao (hornbill) bird.
According to Ceyssens (in Tervuren, 1995, p. 328), the mfondo mask is characterized specifically by the fact that the nasal bridge extends above the face and blends into the crest of the coiffure, as is the case here.
Above and beyond their pure geometric lines, mfondo masks are a beautiful embodiment of the balance between the human and animal realms, their elaborate formal structure playing on a subtle balance between the tension of the concave planes, the starkness of the lines and the fullness of the volumes.
According to Timmermans (1967), who was working from Maesen's field notes, before Lwalu face masks were used for recreational performances, they were originally used for boys' rites of passage within the ngango institutions, and were also involved in hunting rituals to appease the spirits and seek their blessings. Since they were brought to light in the 1930s, Lwalwa masks have been praised for their novel form.
This Lwalu mask is remarkable for the fineness of the features, fine age and superb patina.
According to Ceyssens (in Tervuren, 1995, p. 328), the mfondo mask is characterized specifically by the fact that the nasal bridge extends above the face and blends into the crest of the coiffure, as is the case here.
Above and beyond their pure geometric lines, mfondo masks are a beautiful embodiment of the balance between the human and animal realms, their elaborate formal structure playing on a subtle balance between the tension of the concave planes, the starkness of the lines and the fullness of the volumes.
According to Timmermans (1967), who was working from Maesen's field notes, before Lwalu face masks were used for recreational performances, they were originally used for boys' rites of passage within the ngango institutions, and were also involved in hunting rituals to appease the spirits and seek their blessings. Since they were brought to light in the 1930s, Lwalwa masks have been praised for their novel form.
This Lwalu mask is remarkable for the fineness of the features, fine age and superb patina.
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Kachina doll
Archives | Arizona
Kachina doll
Arizona
Hopi
Large Tasap Katsina – Navajo Spirit Kachina doll
Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments, feathers
Circa 1900
Height: 15 ¾ in. (40 cm)
18 ¼ in. (46.5 cm) with feathers
Ex private collection, USA
Ex collection Jean-Paul Morin, France
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Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
In the Hopi pantheon, Tasap Katsina is meant to capture any latent power or good luck that the Navajo people have. If the Hopi succeed in coaxing this Navajo-kachina spirit, this will reflect on the entire village and strengthen the character of its inhabitants.
In the Hopi pantheon, Tasap Katsina is meant to capture any latent power or good luck that the Navajo people have. If the Hopi succeed in coaxing this Navajo-kachina spirit, this will reflect on the entire village and strengthen the character of its inhabitants.
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George Catlin
Archives | U.S.A.
George Catlin
U.S.A.
George Catlin (1796-1872)
Die Indianer Nord-Amerika
First Edition, Carl Muquardt, Brussels and Leipzig, 1848
382 pages – 23 color plates
Dimensions: 10 ½ in. x 7 ¼ in. (27 cm x 18.3 cm)
Language : German
Good condition – minor brown stains on the pages
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Yup’ik mask
Archives | Alaska
Yup’ik mask
Alaska
Shaman’s dual mask
Man-Seal inua spirit
St. Michael, Alaska
Carved wood, leather and pigments
Late 19th century
Height: 9 in. (23 cm )
Collected in Anvik, Alaska
Ex collection Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian, inventory # 5/941
Sold in 1944 to Julius Carlebach (1909-1964)
Ex Carlebach Gallery, New York
Ex collection Jeffrey R. Myers, New York
Ex collection Pinchas Mendelson, New York, acquired from the above in 2003
By descent
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The Subarctic region inhabited by the Yup'ik is well supplied with land and sea resources allowing for much time that could be devoted to a full ceremonial life. After freeze-up in the winter, performance cycles were undertaken that were important to maintaining proper human, animal, and spirit-world interactions. Performed inside the qasgiq (communal men's house) during festivals, dances feature face and finger masks that make visible the world of helping spirits and extraordinary beings, and are specially made to tell particular stories. Often used by shamans to facilitate communication and movement between worlds (human and animal, the living and the dead), Yup'ik masks usually were discarded after use.
This intensely poetic yet powerful mask symbolizes the shamanic voyage and the physical/visual transformations it occurs.
The center of the mask is illuminated by a smiling face while the naturalistic representation of a seal head with open jaws conveys a sense of strength and mystery.
This type of representation associating symbols of both the animal and human world constitutes the very essence of Yup'ik beliefs and iconography.
This mask is a surrealist manifesto in itself!
This intensely poetic yet powerful mask symbolizes the shamanic voyage and the physical/visual transformations it occurs.
The center of the mask is illuminated by a smiling face while the naturalistic representation of a seal head with open jaws conveys a sense of strength and mystery.
This type of representation associating symbols of both the animal and human world constitutes the very essence of Yup'ik beliefs and iconography.
This mask is a surrealist manifesto in itself!
Publication
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Kachina Doll
Archives | Arizona
Kachina Doll
Arizona
Snake Dancer Kachina doll
Carved by Hopi Chief
Wilson Tawaquaptewa, Oraibi (1873-1960)
Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments, fabrics
Circa 1930
Height: 12 ¼ in. (31 cm)
Ex collection Andrew Ellicott Douglass (1867-1962), Tuscon
Thence by family descent
Ex Sotheby’s New York, November 30, 1999, lot 331
Ex private collection, acquired at the above auction
Tawaquaptewa Snake Dancer Kachina doll 31 cm / Galerie Flak
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Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
This doll is the work of a Hopi master carver, Wilson Tawaquaptewa (1873-1960).
Oraibi chief W. Tawaquaptewa was both a prominent a spiritual and political Hopi leader; he is also celebrated as the greatest Hopi kachina doll carver.
A major exhibition of W. Tawaquaptewa's works was notably presented a few years ago at the Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama, USA).
The color palette on this doll is typical of this artist's works.
This impressive, colorful kachina figure holding a snake in his mouth represents the dramatic Snake Dance of the Hopi people in Arizona
Aby Warburg was the first Western ethnologist to write about a Snake Dance ceremony which took place in 1895 or 1896 when he lived among the Hopi.
A. Warburg observed that during these rituals, priests held rattlesnakes through their teeth in order to transform them into catalysts for storms, dispensers of the beneficent rain.
Subsequently, many ethnologists and collectors became fascinated by this ceremonial cycle. André Breton (who owned a Chusona Snake Dancer Kachina doll in his collection) had the opportunity to attend a Snake Dance in 1945 in Mishongnovi.
This doll is the work of a Hopi master carver, Wilson Tawaquaptewa (1873-1960).
Oraibi chief W. Tawaquaptewa was both a prominent a spiritual and political Hopi leader; he is also celebrated as the greatest Hopi kachina doll carver.
A major exhibition of W. Tawaquaptewa's works was notably presented a few years ago at the Birmingham Museum of Art (Alabama, USA).
The color palette on this doll is typical of this artist's works.
This impressive, colorful kachina figure holding a snake in his mouth represents the dramatic Snake Dance of the Hopi people in Arizona
Aby Warburg was the first Western ethnologist to write about a Snake Dance ceremony which took place in 1895 or 1896 when he lived among the Hopi.
A. Warburg observed that during these rituals, priests held rattlesnakes through their teeth in order to transform them into catalysts for storms, dispensers of the beneficent rain.
Subsequently, many ethnologists and collectors became fascinated by this ceremonial cycle. André Breton (who owned a Chusona Snake Dancer Kachina doll in his collection) had the opportunity to attend a Snake Dance in 1945 in Mishongnovi.
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