New Guinea Western Highlands Gourd Mask-New Guinea Art-Oceanic Art
Dance masks made from the half gourd were used throughout the New Guinea Highlands but ones with extensive human hair originated in the Western Highlands. This superb example was collected by a patrol officer in the 1960s and comes from the Harold Gallasch Collection of South Australia and is ex. Chris Boylan. The large cutout eyes, wide oval mouth, pierced nose and the round, bald pate contrast sharply with a beard every American hipster would kill to have. The mask dates to the mid 20th century, is 16” (40.6 cm) in height and sells for $3800.