Mask
- Culture
- Pentecost Island artist
- Date
- probably 19th century
- Material
- Wood
- from
- Malampa province, Vanuatu, Oceania
- Classification
- Costume & clothing, masks
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 15 3/8 x 6 11/16 x 2 3/4 in. (39 x 17 x 7 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 70:1977
NOTES
This mask, with its heavily patinated surface, is probably quite old. The holes drilled around the side of the face suggest that it was attached to some other object, probably a helmet-like structure that covered a dancer’s head. The lower part of the “double chin” would have been tucked inside the top of a costume, so that the dancer’s identity could be kept completely hidden from the audience. Such masks are reputed to carry a very strong and dangerous spiritual power from the past.
Provenance
- 1972
Roberta M. Nochimson Associates, New York, NY, USA
1972 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Roberta M. Nochimson Associates [1]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated September 14, 1972 from Roberta M. Nochimson Associates to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as " New Hebrides Mask" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, 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, April 14, 1977.
Roberta M. Nochimson Associates, New York, NY, USA
1972 - 1977
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Roberta M. Nochimson Associates [1]
1977 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated September 14, 1972 from Roberta M. Nochimson Associates to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object, listed as " New Hebrides Mask" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated March 1, 1977 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, 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, April 14, 1977.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.