Bird mask from Papua New Guinea

In the Sepik area, ancestors could take the form of a human face, bird, insect, crocodile or other animal. This mask probably represents one of these ancestor spirits. Many of the Sepik masks collected and available today were made to meet the export demand for the region’s art. While not wholly traditional, these masks are still significant to the Sepik art story.

Photographer:

Carl Bento

Rights:

© Australian Museum

Additional information

Australian Museum Collection E857527
Lower Sepik, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Purchased in 1994
Wood
- See more at: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/image/Bird-mask-from-Papua-New-Guinea#sthash.PnsNDyf1.dpuf

Bird mask from Papua New Guinea

In the Sepik area, ancestors could take the form of a human face, bird, insect, crocodile or other animal. This mask probably represents one of these ancestor spirits. Many of the Sepik masks collected and available today were made to meet the export demand for the region’s art. While not wholly traditional, these masks are still significant to the Sepik art story.

Photographer:

Carl Bento

Rights:

© Australian Museum

Additional information

Australian Museum Collection E857527
Lower Sepik, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Purchased in 1994
Wood

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Mask (Wale or Ware), 19th–early 20th century
Papua New Guinea, coastal Boiken
Wood, paint; H: 14 in. (35.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1977 (1977.85)

Bird mask from Papua New Guinea

In the Sepik area, ancestors could take the form of a human face, bird, insect, crocodile or other animal. This mask probably represents one of these ancestor spirits. Many of the Sepik masks collected and available today were made to meet the export demand for the region’s art. While not wholly traditional, these masks are still significant to the Sepik art story.

Photographer:

Carl Bento

Rights:

© Australian Museum

Additional information

Australian Museum Collection E857527
Lower Sepik, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Purchased in 1994
Wood
- See more at: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/image/Bird-mask-from-Papua-New-Guinea#sthash.PnsNDyf1.dpuf

Bird mask from Papua New Guinea

In the Sepik area, ancestors could take the form of a human face, bird, insect, crocodile or other animal. This mask probably represents one of these ancestor spirits. Many of the Sepik masks collected and available today were made to meet the export demand for the region’s art. While not wholly traditional, these masks are still significant to the Sepik art story.

Photographer:

Carl Bento

Rights:

© Australian Museum

Additional information

Australian Museum Collection E857527
Lower Sepik, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Purchased in 1994
Wood
- See more at: http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/image/Bird-mask-from-Papua-New-Guinea#sthash.PnsNDyf1.dpuf