UPPER XINGU RIVER MASK - image-1

Lot 252 Rα

UPPER XINGU RIVER MASK

Auction 1103 - overview Brussels
31.01.2018, 14:00 - Art of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas
Estimate: 3.000 € - 5.000 €
Result: 38.440 € (incl. premium)
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UPPER XINGU RIVER MASK
Probably Wauja (Waurà), Brazil

50 cm. high

An almost identical mask in the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac (71.1967.63.6) is attributed to the Wauja or Waurà and its name is recorded as "Pirarara" (the Brasilian name for the red-tailed catfish). As in the present example the teeth of the mask are formed from the jaws of a piranha. According to the museum the mask was used to cure the sick. The mask wearer would chase the shadow or the spirit that caused the disease.

Provenance

Harald Schultz, anthropologist
Alicia and Gugliemo Rossi, acquired from the above in the 1960s.