Gallery Label
This mask has the typical features of a coastal Sepik River–area mask, which combines human and avian designs. The birdlike combination includes an elongated beaked nose on an oval face with a pointed chin and slanted eyes. The mask was made of wood with few surface details other than paint and a totemic relief meant to represent an ancestor.
Masks such as this one were kept in ceremonial houses and used in song and dance rituals. Other masks of varying sizes were placed on the gables of ceremonial houses, attached to canoes, or kept as personal amulets.
This mask was used in a number of different ceremonies: events celebrating and honoring marriage, birth, death, and fertility, among them. There were songs and dances to honor the specific ancestor the mask personified and such a mask was used with a costume. The masks and costumes were painted and adorned for the ceremonial use. Following completion of the festivities, the masks were kept, while the costumes were destroyed.
