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a close up of a stuffed animal with fringes on ita close up of a piece of wood with a face painted on itan image of a stuffed animal that is sitting on a table
ARTESIA - Maison de Ventes à Châtellerault

364 - KOBÉUA or a related group from the Upper Uaupés River / Caia…
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Estimate €300 - €500
Sale commission
Description
KOBÉUA or a related group from the Upper Uaupés River / Caiary-Uaupés, north-western Amazon, Brazil / Colombia Ceremonial mask and costume with geometric decoration. Painted plant fibre covering, plant fibres, natural pigments, aged patina and signs of wear. Dimensions to be added. Provenance: - Collection from the south of France. Notes: This mask-costume forms part of the vast array of ritual traditions of the Upper Rio Negro and Rio Uaupés regions, first documented in the early 20th century by the German ethnographer Theodor Koch-Grünberg and subsequently studied by Günther Hartmann in his book *Masken südamerikanischer Naturvölker*. Made from painted plant fibre matting and extended with fibres to form a wraparound costume, it was worn by slipping the head through the structure so that the dancer disappeared entirely beneath the mask and its cloak of fibres. The geometric designs, painted in black and reddish-brown and comprising triangular bands, scale-like patterns or rhythmic stripes, belong to the graphic vocabulary of the Kobéua, Káua and Tukano groups of the Upper Uaupés. These masks were used in communal ceremonies associated with animal spirits, forest forces, fertility rites and seasonal celebrations. The dances often mimicked the movements and behaviour of the beings depicted, based on the belief that the mask enabled the dancer to be temporarily transformed into a spiritual or animal entity. The extreme rarity of these ritual costumes is due to the fragility of the organic materials used and their intensive use within the communal ceremonial houses of the North-West Amazon. Bibliography: A detailed typology of the specimens collected by Theodor Koch-Grünberg in the Rio Caiary-Uaupés region in the early 20th century and published by Günther Hartmann in *Masken südamerikanischer Naturvölker*.
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About the sale PRESTIGE - CLASSICAL CENTURIES - VAYRES CASTLE
Auction location
Auction time 10/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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