Mask (Dagak)

Unknown

mid to late 19th century · Wood, paint · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Its deeply sculpted features and prominent bulbous nose indicate that this mask was probably made on northern Grande Terre Island in New Caledonia. Like all Kanak masks, the eyes are not pierced. The wearer looked out through the mouth, depicted in a toothsome grin. Masks were worn as part of elaborate costumes that concealed the wearer’s identity. In northern Grande Terre, masks were associated with the lives and authority of chiefs, who wore them at important gatherings. Clad in the elaborate mask and costume, the chief brandished a spear and other weapons, with which he ceremonially threatened the surrounding crowd. In the mourning rites of chiefs, masked dancers appeared as substitutes for the deceased.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid to late 19th century

Medium

Wood, paint

Culture

Kanak people

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Mary R. Morgan Gift; Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller and Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, by exchange, 1983