mask, canoe prow shield, of carved wood; elongated, perforated at top and with projected wood spike at base; facial features carved in low relief; pink and white pigment in design; attached to prow shield of fighting canoes, represents an ancestral spirit
Donor:
Ellsworth La Boyteaux and Mrs. Ellsworth La Boyteaux
Collection place:
Suagup Village, April River Tributary, Upper Sepik River
Culture or time period:
New Guinea, Papua Island
Collector:
Bruce D. Lawes
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Canoe-boards, Carvings (visual works), and Masks (costume)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies