mask, carved wood; large round perforations for eyes, with raised high relief “bony” structure; openwork teeth treatment; stylized carved headdress; once painted, most worn off; possibly an initiation mask for an impersonator of a totemic ancestor
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:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies