Mask

This mask features a complex structure centered on a human face.

Surrounded by a double circle known as ^Ellanguat1, around which revolve numerous figurative (fish, hands, legs) or geometric elements.

The pure form and subtle, detailed surface modeling of this magnificent mask are characteristic of the mask-making tradition of Nunivak Island in the Bering Strait.

According to Ann Fienup-Riordan2, in Yup’ik tradition,^this type of mask represents the salmon that jumped out of the water and fell to the shore to take on the form of a living person.
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1- Ellanguat are large wooden hoops set with feathers, used in certain ceremonies to signify the superimposed worlds that make up the Eskimo universe.
The concentric circles surrounding the masks have a similar significance, representing the dual world of human and animal spirits.
2- Ann Fienup-Riordan 1996. The living tradition of Yup’ik mask, your Way of making prayer.University of Washington Press Seatle & London,p.242

Price: €12,500