Bahinimo mask. Papua New Guinea, Oceania, mid-20th century.

Bahinimo mask. Papua New Guinea, Oceania, mid-twentieth century.
Carved and polychrome wood.
Measurements: 69 cm high.

Bahinimo mask in carved and polychrome wood, of elongated format and marked verticality. The piece presents two superimposed faces, treated with schematic features and a polychrome in reddish, black and white tones, characteristic of the strong graphic language of the ritual art of Papua New Guinea.

Its frontal composition, narrow and ascending, concentrates the expressiveness in the repetition of the faces and in the chromatic contrast of the surface. It is a work of remarkable visual intensity, linked to the ceremonial universe of the peoples of the Sepik River area and representative of the sculptural power of traditional oceanic art.