Northern New Ireland
Tatanua Mask
Northern New Ireland, 1899-1998
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Northern New Ireland
Tatanua Mask
Northern New Ireland, 1899-1998
Physical Qualities
Wood, hemp, fiber, opercula of turbo snail, burrs, reed pith, cane, lime, H. 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1955.251.18
Presumably from perm AAAPI installation 1984-2012: " Worn by men in dances for clan-wide funerak ceremonies called malangan, Tatanua maks commemorate the dead in general, or portray specific people. Once consecrated for a dance, the masks are very powerful. If a man fails to observe the necessary restrictions before and during the dance, the mask may overpower him and eat into his head."
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1955; Alan Wurtzburger; Carlebach Gallery
"The Alan Wurtzburger Collection of Oceanic Art", January 7th-March 4th 1956, Baltimore Museum of Art
Douglas F. Fraser & Paul S. Wingret, "The Wurtzburger Collection of Oceanic Art". Baltimore Museum of Art. 1956 pg 15, ills 18.
Sunday Sun, Brown Section, November 8th 1956 ills. 15
Time Magazine February 27th 1956, pg 83, ills 15 (color)
