Exhibitions
Faces, visible – invisible
1- 30 April
Ancient arts of Africa, Oceania and North America
“The visible opens our eyes to the invisible.”
Anaxagoras
Over the centuries, the human face has fascinated men, imposing itself as a major medium of artistic expression. What better than a mask allows us to embody an idea or take on a new identity? From Ancient Greece to the Americas, by way of Africa, Asia and Oceania, human groups over the ages have privileged the mask as the preferred messenger between the world of men and that of spirits, between the visible and the invisible.
The mask transforms, enhancing and veiling as much as it reveals. On a form in wood, leather or metal, the sculptor redistributes the lines and planes of the face. The quest to represent the intangible, the elusive, constitutes an infinite source of artistic invention. The face is deconstructed, its features exaggerated. The creations that result from this come to life during initiation rites, social or religious masked ceremonies.
This exhibition highlights the richness of styles and the power of evocation of these faces from the world over. From the raw poetry of Papua New Guinea art to the Cubism of the masks of the Congo basin, the Surrealist mystery of the works of New Ireland, and the shamanic dreams embodied in the Eskimo arts of Far North, the mask reigns as master.
In a drawing from 1949, Max Ernst proclaimed, “Be careful: one mask may mask (or unmask) another.”
May you enjoy discovering all those here!
Discover our new e-catalog
Lwalwa Mfondo mask
Democratic Republic of The Congo
Early 20th century
Ex collection Bernard Cosyns, Antwerp
Ex Galerie Gregory Verdonck, Brussels
Ex collection Jo de Buck, Brussels
Malagan mask
New Ireland
19th century
Collected by Fregat Captain Rudolph Brosch in 1894
during the Austrian Imperial Expedition in the South Seas (1893-1895)
Thence by descent in the Brosch family
Iagalagana Mumuye figure
Nigeria
Early 20th century
Ex collection Galerie Jacques Kerchache, Paris
Ex Gros & Delettrez, Paris, 18 Nov 2003, lot 235
Ex collection Galerie Flak circa 2006
Ex private collection, France
Published: Mumuye, François Neyt, 2006 (cover & plate 19)
Gope spirit board
Papuan Gulf, Papua New Guinea
Early 20th century
Ex collection Aaron Furman, New York
Ex private collection, acquired from the above in the 1960s
Kavat mask for night dances
Uramot- Baining people
New Britain
Mid 20th century
Ex private collection, UK
Baining Fire Dance
Firedancer wearing a ceremonial mask, Baining people, Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
March 2008
Photograph: Taro Taylor
Kifwebe Songye mask
Kalebwe , Democratic Republic of the Congo
Early 20th century
Ex private collection in the Netherlands since the 1960s
By descent in the family (third generation)
Ex Sotheby’s Paris
« C’est pharamineux, affolant d’expression »
André Derain, 1907
Yupik shaman’s dual mask
Man-Seal inua spirit
St. Michael, Alaska
Late 19th century
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
False Face mask
Iroquois people
Northeast, USA
Early 20th century
Ex private collection, Albuquerque, USA
Yam fertility figure
“Kwaga” (according to Douglas Newton’s notes)
Nukuma people
Washkuk Hills, Upper Sepik, Papua New Guinea
Early 20th century
Field-collected by Douglas Newton, 1973
Ex collection Douglas Newton (1920-2001), New York,
inv. # “Nu 15”
Ex collection John & Marcia Friede, Jolika,
acquired from the above 2002
Ex collection Marc Assayag, Montreal
Ex private collection, New York
Kota Obamba Figure
Mbulu-Ngulu reliquary figure
Gabon
Early 20th century or earlier
Ex private collection, acquired in the 1950s
By descent
Ex Christie’s Paris, Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, June 11th 2012
Ex collection Daniel Hourdé, Paris
Ex Galerie Ratton, Paris
Ex private collection, Paris acquired from the above in 2017
Publication / Exhibition:
“Gabon”, Galerie Philippe Ratton, June-Sept. 2017 p. 40-41
Lele mask
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Early 20th century
Ex collection Hendrik Elias (1925-2014)
By descent in the family
Ex collection Jo de Buck, Brussels
Ancestor Figure
North Coast, Aitape region, East Sepik Province
Papua New Guinea
Early 20th century
Acquired in the 1930s
Ex Sotheby’s New York, 2001
Ex collection Pierre Mondoloni, France
Published: Sepik: Hooks, Figures & Masks, 2018
Poos’hum Katsina – Seed Kachina doll
Hopi, Arizona
Circa 1890
Ex private collection, USA
Lega Idimu or Lukwakongo mask
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Early 20th century
Ex collection Michel Boulanger, Liege
Ex collection Jo de Buck, Brussels
Ex private collection, Seattle
Exceptional large carved head
Old Bering Sea III culture
Archaic Eskimo, Alaska
300 A.D. – 500 A.D.
Ex collection Harry Klamer, Toronto
Ex collection Perry Lewis, Connecticut
Published:
Ancient Eskimo Ivories of the Bering Strait, Wardwell figure 119
