Flute Mask Item Number: 3277/24 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Mask made mainly of plant fibre and clay, bordered with dark feathers, decorated with shell and teeth. At the top, there is a head of coconut shell(?) with a long, curled nose and puckered lips of clay with pig teeth inset, and large shell pieces for eyes. The forehead is outlined by two rows of inset shells, and man large pieces of shells decorate the head. Below the face is a vertical line of shells, the largest at the top. The outer edge of the mask has a repeating design of two rows of small inset shells, spaced with a larger shell in between every other row. The back of the mask is an open framework of wood and woven plant fibres.

Narrative

Collected by Jack Lieber in Papua New Guinea, Eastern Highlands Division, from August 1970 - June 1972. He was researching village communities in and around Goroka, where he was lecturing under the auspices of UNESCO at the Goroka Teachers College.