A Cara Grande Shaman's Mask Tapirape peoples, Brazil, 20th century A construction with a semicircular wood board painted black, rectangular hole for mouth with square teeth attached with beeswax, square eye holes with mother of pearl inlay at top and bottom. The front is covered with a mosaic of domestic parrot feathers attached with beeswax and two wood inserts through holes in cheek area. The inserts have a loosely braided white thread tassel and mother of pearl disks on the flat end of the one at proper left (the other missing). A two inch section of hollow reed wrapped with grey thread is attached at chin area. The whole is framed with layers of rattan strips secured with cotton cord. The free-standing feathers around perimeter held in place with white string. In good condition. With a custom metal stand. Provenance: Purchased in Paris in the 1980s Exhibited: From the Spirits: Native Art of the Americas, Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Winter Park, FL, 1992 "In the Amazon basin of Brazil, the shamans of a group called Tapisape utilized red feather head-dresses ‘...to draw into themselves the spiritual forces of lightning and thunder'. These masks are called Cara Grande (large face) and are used in dances to commemorate a larger than normal harvest. Constructed of a large wood panel with features articulated in Parrot and Macaw feathers affixed with beeswax." -- from page 91 of the exhibition catalog. Width: 24 inches HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved