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

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryParis, France, Galerie La Gentilhommière, Arts de l'Océanie, 1951. Cat. no. 57.

Paris, France, Galerie Leleu, Magie du décor dans le Pacifique, Collection P.S. Vérité, 1955. Cat. no. 17.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Currents, Mar. 15, 2015 - Apr. 22, 2018.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Species, Dec. 12, 2022 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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