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Description
Mask representing a human face pigmented in two colors, the top part is a yellow ochre and the details of the face are colored in red.
Created with the utmost artistry, this mask represents a human face, in striking realism. Pigmented in two colors, the top part is a yellow ochre while the details of the face are colored in red. The eyes and the nostrils are almond-shaped, and are created of circular perforations in the wood. The open mouth is in the form of a crescent, with the points turning downward. The lips are drawn, encircling this shape. At the back of the mask there is a double hoop in wicker, on which eight white feathers rest, bordering the face of the mask.
According to the archives at the Heye Foundation, this little mask represents Akasta, the sun, and is originally from the region of Bethel, on the south side of the Kuskokwim river. The beautiful quality of the sculpture, as well as the exceptional artistry that this mask holds, is an exquisite account of the Kuskokwim culture. [Auction catalogue, 2003]
Bibliography
- Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou, André Breton, La beauté convulsive, 1991, rep. p. 375 (photo Sabine Weiss, 1956, dans l'atelier)
- William Rubin, Primitivism in XXth century art - Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1984, rep. p. 578
- Alain Jouffroy, « La collection André Breton », L'œil, n° 10, octobre 1955, rep. p. 34
| Languages | French |
| Physical description | Bois tendre, polychromie rouge et blanche, plumes, fibres végétales, patine d'usage |
| From / Provenance | Ancienne collection A. H. Twitchell, Heye Foundation n° d'inventaire 09/3411, échangé avec Julius Carlebach le 10 mars 1945. |
| Place of origin | |
| Size | 26,70 x 29,20 x 3,80 cm |
| Breton Auction, 2003 | Lot 6171 |
| Keywords | Mask, organic items, Ceremonial Art, Northern People |
| Categories | Native Americans, Etnographical Art, Inuit Yup'ik Art |
| Exhibition | Moon Dancers : Yup'ik Masks and the Surrealists |
| Permanent link | https://cms.andrebreton.fr/en/work/56600100396920 |
