Gable Masks Often fantastic in presentation, Gable masks are much larger than ancestral spirit masks. The center of spiritual development for a village is its men’s house (Haus Tambaran). Gable masks, like gargoyles, adorn both the inner and outer walls of these enormous structures, where they serve an apotropaic purpose.

Fig. 19: Gable Mask, Middle Sepik, Wood, shells, boar tusks & clay, 37”

Fig. 20: Gable Mask, Middle Sepik, Wood, shells & cassowary feathers, 66”

Fig. 21: Gable Mask, Middle Sepik, Wood, shells & cassowary feathers, 53”

Fig. 22: Gable Mask, Tambanam Village, Middle Sepik, Wood, boar tusks, shells, clay & grasses, 49”

Photography: Marc Assayag
Website: Marc Assayag, Stephen Lazarus, Mary Lou Beauharnois and David Driver
© 2003, Plattsburgh State Art Museum, All rights reserved.
No portion of this website may be reproduced without permission
of Tookalook Native Arts, Montreal, Canada. (www.tookalook.com)

Copyright Statement

Plattsburgh State University, Home Page

Send comments to: Plattsburgh State Art Museum