Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Barak Mask from Kairiru Island
Image View:
Mask, right, overall side view; displayed with a Chubwan mask from Vanatu (at left)
Creator:
unknown (Sepik)
Location:
repository: Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (Paris, Île-de-France, France) 72.1995.3.1
Location Note:
From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-Face Picasso, Past and Present (2018 exhibition)
Date:
ca. 19th-20th centuries (creation)
Cultural Context:
Papua New Guinea; Sepik
Style Period:
Nineteenth century; Sepik
Work Type 1:
ceremonial mask
Work Type 2:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
wood; traces of black, red, white pigment
Technique:
carving (processes); painting and painting techniques
Measurements:
17 cm (height) x 22.7 cm (width) x 47.3 cm (depth)
Subjects:
deities; Hunting; Masks; ritual object; Oceanic
Description:
A spirit mask which represents a mythical bush spirit called Barak who is called upon for help in both male initiation and hunting. Barak masks exist in male and female form. In the ceremonial house, offerings of magical substances such as coral and tree bark were made to the Barak spirit to spiritually enliven the mask, together with requests for assistance with fishing and hunting. Although rarely danced, each individual mask was known by a unique name and was danced by an initiated male concealed in a plant fiber costume. This example is from Kairuru Island, Wewak (Eastern Sepik), Papua New Guinea. (Source: Le Fur, Yves, ed.; Through the Eyes of Picasso: Face to Face with African and Oceanic Art, Paris: Editions Flammarion, 2017 (978-2-08-020319-9))
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-AFRICAN-FAFFM-BM -A01
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Barak Mask from Kairiru Island