New Ireland Tatanua Mask
The Tatanua masks of New Ireland are some of the boldest and most striking in all of Oceania. With tall, crested headdresses atop intricately carved wooden faces with eerily natural-looking shell eyes and large open mouths baring teeth, the masks are visually exciting. They are crucial to northern New Ireland ritual life, bringing the Malagan funeral ceremony for an important chief to a close by lifting the last taboos. Tatanua masks are usually danced as a group with strict choreography just before the final exchanges between the clans.
The tatanua mask’s boldness and complexity make even the most routine example a pleasure to behold. Yet, over the years I have more and more been drawn to the unusual and less classic. For example, I prefer the ones like the present where the jaw and mouth jut out creating a face that is less rigid and boxy. I also love the graphic quality of the crest on this one. The mask dates to the late 19th/early 20th century, comes from a New York family where it had been acquired by the grandfather in the 1950s. It is on the market for the first time in 70 years. The mask will be published in my next catalog for the upcoming Parcours des Mondes exhibition this September. The mask is 15” (38 cm) in height and the price is available upon request.