oceania | New Ireland
Malagan mask
New Ireland
Ges mask
Carved wood (alstonia), natural pigments, shell
19th century
Heigth: 11 ½ in. (29.5 cm)
Collected by Frigate Captain Rudolph Brosch in 1894
during the Austrian Imperial Expedition in the South Seas (1893-1895)
Thence by descent in the Brosch family
Brosch Malagan Mask 29.5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
In Northern New Ireland, the ritual life and social organization of the clans were orchestrated by long and complex funeral ceremonies called Malagan. In the words of the Field Museum in Chicago: « New Ireland masks capture and reveal the spiritual power of supernatural beings summoned during feasts and rituals ».
This rare and imposing Ges mask was field-collected by Austrian frigate captain Rudolph Brosch in 1894 during the Austrian Imperial Expedition to the South Seas (1893-1895) on board the three-masted ship S.M.S. Corvette Fasana.
A total of 55 objects collected in New Ireland during the Expedition entered the collections of the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum) in Vienna while a small selection of artworks, including this mask, has remained in the Brosch family collection by descent for over 125 years.
This rare and imposing Ges mask was field-collected by Austrian frigate captain Rudolph Brosch in 1894 during the Austrian Imperial Expedition to the South Seas (1893-1895) on board the three-masted ship S.M.S. Corvette Fasana.
A total of 55 objects collected in New Ireland during the Expedition entered the collections of the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum) in Vienna while a small selection of artworks, including this mask, has remained in the Brosch family collection by descent for over 125 years.
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