Sawfish Mask
20th century
A sawfish with harlequin pop-eyes may appear slightly comical, but is a dangerous species that spends most of its time lying on the floor of the Sepik River. Its mouth and nostrils are hidden on the underside, while its long nose extension sprouts teeth that are arranged here in a flaring line.
All species of sawfish - also known as carpenter sharks - are critically endangered. Unfortunately, people continue to eat their fins, process their livers for medicinal oils, and collect their noses as a curiosity.
--Pamela McClusky, Curator of Art of African and Oceanic Art, 2015
Wood, chalk, and charcoal
32 x 8 in. (81.3 x 20.3cm)
Gift of Mark Groudine and Cynthia Putnam
2020.5.3
Provenance: [Claude and Pierre Vérité, Paris, France], ca. 1940; Marcia and John
Friede Collection, New York; [Lewis/Wara Gallery, Seattle, Washington];
purchased from gallery by Mark Groudine, Seattle, Washington, 2013; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2020
