Collected in 1887. Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig. Carlo Monzino (1931–1996), Lugano, Switzerland (sale, New York, Sotheby’s, 10 November 1987, lot 96, sold to); Masco Corporation Collection, Livonia, MI, sold 2008 through; [Sotheby’s, New York, to]; LACMA.

Gallery Label
Made by a secret society in charge of protecting ritual procedure, tapuanu, or spirit or ghost, masks have straight noses, thin slit eyes, pursed mouths, and curved eyebrows in a birdlike motif (which also is seen on canoes). The top-knot hairstyle to one side is the only break of symmetry on this mask. These wall masks probably were made to ward off dangerous typhoons and should not be confused with outdoor gable masks.

The Caroline Islands are made up of more than a thousand primarily low-lying islands and atolls with distinct architectural forms and art cultures. The Carolines lie at the crossroads of Polynesian and Melanesian cultures, and the different influences are seen among the many islands.

Micronesian art forms, often simple and minimal, can be viewed in the aesthetics of this mask from the Mortlock Island region, the only example of masks made in Micronesia. These black-and-white masks were used primarily to decorate interior support beams, though some were made small enough to wear in song-and-dance rituals performed in March or April to protect the breadfruit crop. This particular mask is too large to be worn, and therefore is more likely to have been used indoors.