105 - Didagur mask with a long nose and articulated jaw

Didagur mask with a long nose and articulated jaw Woven basketwork, natural pigments, feathers, fibers, cords, signs of age. Kapriman, Blackwater River, Middle Sepik, Papua New Guinea. 105 x 75 cm The face extends into a tapered, beak-like nose, whose slenderness contrasts with the broad forehead and the hanging jaw, fringed with feathers. Around the circular eye, long curves painted with ochres and natural pigments elongate the gaze and follow the profile, lending the composition a remarkable graphic elegance. Known as didagur among the Kapriman, these wicker masks represented bush spirits and played a role in the initiation of young men. The long-nosed examples depicted male beings, while those with short noses depicted female beings. General bibliography: Barry Craig, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor – Part III,” Oceanic Art Society Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, February 2016, pp. 7–8, fig. 5. Comparative reference: South Australian Museum, Adelaide, mask collected by A. J. Hunter around 1918, inv. A.11859: similarities include the long nose, movable jaw, and curvilinear motifs surrounding the eye; the upper silhouette is different.