Lot 15
Vanuatu Malekula Temes Nevimbur Mask Puppet
Sold June 28, 2025
- Price realized
- $375
Price realized is the winning bid (hammer price) and excludes buyer’s premium.
About this lot
Estimated Value: $1,200-1,500
Origin: Malekula Island, 19th century
Dimensions: 8.5×6.5×14.5 in.
Condition: It has wear of the natural materials and cracking of its paint especially along its face. Its rod is broken off and the wood is splintered at the end. Its natural materials make it fragile.
Additional Information: This Vanuatu Malekula Temes Nevimbur Mask Puppet is on a wooden rod that has been broken off with the mask shaped onto the top with natural materials such as clay, natural fibers, vegetal paste, and leaves. It has a large nose and protruding eyes with rod like shapes with flat ends and a painted orange and black design. It also has bore tusks on each side of the face.
Boar tusks are sometimes used as currency in Vanatu and often represented wealth and status. Temes Nevimber are types of rods or puppets that are used in secret society ceremonies and represent are used to tell mythological stories.
Reportedly, provenance: Artemis Gallery, CO.
Lot details
- Lot
- 15
- Closed
- June 28, 2025
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