Rare shaman's mask, ca. 1900-1930
Click here to view a larger version of the image- Homepage
- Auctions
- Auction 103
- Rare shaman's mask, ca. 1900-1930
Lot: 76
Rare shaman's mask, ca. 1900-1930
South West Alaska, Nunivak Island, Yupik
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
collected in Bethel, Alaska New York Collection, USA Finch & Co., London, Great Britain Andreas & Kathrin Lindner, Munich, Germany Adrian Schlag, Brussels, Belgium |
H: 11 inch (mask); 14.6 inch (with hoops) |
14000 EUR / 18000 EUR |
wood, pigments, two wooden rings, feathers as a mount for attached wooden elements (seal and its flippers, two whale's tails), water stains, base
This mask depicts the human-like face of a shamanic spirit.
Inside the communal men's house "qasgiq", Yup’ik shamans performed masked ceremonies which brought to life helping spirits and supernatural beings. Shamans wore masks to facilitate communication and movements between worlds (the visible and the invisible, the men and the spirits, the living and the dead…). This voyage is symbolized here by the concentric circles around the face.
Ritually powerful when in use, they were often discarded afterwards, their power and spiritual energy spent.
Finch & Co, Catalogue 26, 2016, No. 44