Lewa Mask
- Culture
- Vokeo Island artist
- Date
- 19th or early 20th century
- Material
- Wood and varnish
- Classification
- Costume & clothing, masks
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 17 5/8 x 7 7/8 x 4 15/16 in. (44.7 x 20 x 12.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 1426:1983
NOTES
This Lewa mask is a masterpiece of elegant design. Such masks were used when a village headman needed an occasion, such as the first menstruation of his daughter, to bring the village together. To begin the ceremonial period, a man wearing women’s skirts would emerge from the sea. Walking like a very pregnant woman, he would later “give birth” to male “twins” in the men’s house. During the ritual dances, these twins would wear tall wicker headdresses with a Lewa mask attached to the front and tufts of human hair at the top.
Each type of mask used on Wogeo Island had a different class of taboo (or restrictions) that the headman would use to control his people. During the three-to-four-month Lewa period, it was forbidden to gather ripe coconuts. Other types of masks invoked taboos on harvesting betel nuts or killing pigs.
Each type of mask used on Wogeo Island had a different class of taboo (or restrictions) that the headman would use to control his people. During the three-to-four-month Lewa period, it was forbidden to gather ripe coconuts. Other types of masks invoked taboos on harvesting betel nuts or killing pigs.
Provenance
1934
Probably collected by Herbert Ian Hogbin (1904-1989) on Wogeo Island, Papua New Guinea [1]
1965 - 1975
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased at auction of Primitive Art, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot no. 95 [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] A 1965 Parke-Bernet auction catalogue identifies this object was worn as a pair with another mask also in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum, 170:1975. The catalogue notes the two masks were “collected in 1930” [Primitive Art, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot no. 95 and 96]. 170:1975 is illustrated in “The Island of Menstruating Men: Religion in Wogeo, New Guinea” written by Herbert Ian Hogbin, although it does not indicate what year it was collected. Hogbin was an anthropologist who worked on Wogeo Island in 1934 and 1948 [Hogbin, Ian. The Island of Menstruating Men: Religion in Wogeo, New Guinea. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 1996 reprint]. Additional publications identify 170:1975 as “Collected by H. Ian Hogbin, 1934” [Gathercole, Peter, Adrienne L. Kaeppler, and Douglas Newton. The Art of the Pacific Islands. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1979; Kaeppler, Adrienne, Christian Kauffman, and Douglas Newton. Oceanic Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997].
[2] See Note [1]. An invoice dated April 22, 1965 from Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as “95 Mask” [SLAM document files].
[3] A letter dated August 14, 1975 from Morton D. May to Mary-Edgar Patton, acting director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 6, 1975.
Probably collected by Herbert Ian Hogbin (1904-1989) on Wogeo Island, Papua New Guinea [1]
1965 - 1975
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased at auction of Primitive Art, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot no. 95 [2]
1975 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] A 1965 Parke-Bernet auction catalogue identifies this object was worn as a pair with another mask also in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum, 170:1975. The catalogue notes the two masks were “collected in 1930” [Primitive Art, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot no. 95 and 96]. 170:1975 is illustrated in “The Island of Menstruating Men: Religion in Wogeo, New Guinea” written by Herbert Ian Hogbin, although it does not indicate what year it was collected. Hogbin was an anthropologist who worked on Wogeo Island in 1934 and 1948 [Hogbin, Ian. The Island of Menstruating Men: Religion in Wogeo, New Guinea. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc., 1996 reprint]. Additional publications identify 170:1975 as “Collected by H. Ian Hogbin, 1934” [Gathercole, Peter, Adrienne L. Kaeppler, and Douglas Newton. The Art of the Pacific Islands. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1979; Kaeppler, Adrienne, Christian Kauffman, and Douglas Newton. Oceanic Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997].
[2] See Note [1]. An invoice dated April 22, 1965 from Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as “95 Mask” [SLAM document files].
[3] A letter dated August 14, 1975 from Morton D. May to Mary-Edgar Patton, acting director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 6, 1975.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.