Malagan ceremonial dance crest mask, Tatanua, Tabar Island, New Ireland Wood, plant fibers, natural pigments Late 19th century Height: 33cm Provenance Dr. Jan Olof Ollers, Stockholm French private collection acquired at Sotheby's (Lot 26), New-York, November 15, 1985 In the north of New Ireland and the surrounding Tabar Islands, ritual life was punctuated by long, complex funeral ceremonies known as malagan. In this ceremonial quest for ritual commemoration, a wide variety of figures, whose totemic motifs varied almost ad infinitum, and masks with very specific functions were conceived. Among this rich corpus, Tatanua masks are the most emblematic and best-known. According to the earliest accounts provided by the German ethnologist Richard Parkinson, the tatanua embodies and represents the spirit or soul of a deceased person. A symbol of timeless beauty, strength, poise and power beyond death, the tatuana was traditionally worn by the young men of a village at public dances, either in pairs, groups or ranks. According to Peekel, tatanua masks would have represented and embodied important people, as often during a dance one would hear someone call the mask by the name of the deceased (P. Gerh. Peekel, Die Ahnenbilder von Nord-Neu-Mecklenburg. Eine kritische und positive Studie, Anthropos, vol. 22, 1./2, Jan.-April 1927, p.33). Parkinson was the first to emphasize their festive and social character. He sees them as a manifestation of the Neo-Irish ideal of masculine beauty (R. Parkinson, Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee, Stuttgart 1907, p. 647). Characterized by their large, imposing, astonishing crested hair called a mulai (Peekel, ibid.), which faithfully corresponded to the tradition of hairstyles adopted to represent and signify mourning: "this particular hairstyle was obtained as the relatives of the deceased grew long hair which was then induced with burnt lime and colored yellow. During the funeral ceremony, the hair was shaved off at the sides, leaving a crest in the middle down to the nape of the neck [...] the sides were then induced with a thick layer of limestone and various ornaments were produced..." (Parkinson, ibid.). (Parkinson, ibid.) This Tatanua mask illustrates - through the remarkable elaboration of its headdress and iconography - the power of fascination exerted by the arts of New Ireland as soon as they were discovered by by Europeans at the end of the 19th century. Intended to provoke a visual shock when the mask is turned, the headdress is divided into two parts, one in the shape of a skull, subtly decorated alternately with black fibers, fabric and scrollwork, and an imposing, vigorous crest, exceptional here, embellished with tufts of raised red plant fibers. The majesty and beauty of the headdress accentuate the strength of the face, with its tight features and carnivorous expression. Enhanced by the finesse of the sculpted and painted motifs, it underlines the criteria of masculine beauty in New Ireland: a broad nose, with widely hemmed nostrils, a large mouth with lips projected forward, and teeth marked by alternating black and white pigments. The eyes, set with cowrie shells, accentuate the intensity of the gaze and the presence of the mask. His open mouth, with its fleshy jaw, invigorates the face, reinforcing the aggressive, combative expression of the mask intended to chase away evil spirits.