It is hand-carved. This mask is incredibly unique in design- the mask itself is quite detailed, with light taupe and orange paint developing a beautiful pattern around the item’s face. The forehead is carved with a beautiful winged design, and contains an incredibly detailed sun design in the center. Fringe lines the bottom portion of the mask’s face.

Information about mask-making in the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea (from http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/maskspko.htm):

There are mask-making villages all along the Sepik, but the middle river is the most densely populated with over 25 large villages of the Iatmul language group people between Moim and Pagwi. Tambanum is the largest, others include Timbunke, Angriman, Mindinbit, Kamanimbit, Kanganaman, Palimbei, Yentchan, Korogo and Kandingai.

Recent research by the National Museum and drilling by oil companies indicates that during the Ice Ages it was an inland saltwater sea. With the ongoing tectonic uplift of the island and the erosion of the highlands, the basin filled in and the people living there made the shift from a saltwater to a freshwater culture. During the yearly wet season, the Sepik River and the Ramu River floodplains join together in the old sea basin.

The villagers keep small gardens and the women fish. They trade fish to the inland Sawos people for sago flour, the starchy pith of the sago palm, which is the main staple of the Sepik diet. There is a small cash economy along the Sepik and the people sell fish, as well as carvings for cash. The middle Sepiks have a common ancestry, but each village is independent and this is reflected in their art, including their masks. Every village carves in a distinctive style.

The men carve masks from soft wood, although some are made of clay over-modeled onto turtle or coconut shell. They mix paints from earth pigments and charcoal. The masks are decorated with shells, pig tusks, and cassowary feathers.

Few masks are worn directly over the face, which explains the lack of holes for eyes. Some are fastened onto a large cone-shaped wicker framework for a dance costume called a tumbuan. Raffia is knotted into the bottom hoop for skirting and flowers, fruit and leaves added on for color and power at the time of the ceremony. Other masks are made only for display, most often in the men's Haus, to attract powerful and useful spirits.

The individual elements of the masks are complex, beyond the scope of this article. They often refer directly or indirectly to ancestor or clan spirits and totems such as pig, cassowary (muruk), crocodile (pukpuk), eagle (taragau), or a water and bush bird (saun). There are many different types of masks for different purposes.

WO-3

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