Papua New Guinea

MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River

MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River
MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River

MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River

MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River. Beautiful and rare woven mask from Papau New Guinea. This is an exceptional mask.

Item Type: Attributed to the Abelam People of New Guinea. Item Description: The mask is from Papua, New Guinea and is referred to as a Yam Ceremonial mask of the Abelam people of northeast New Guinea. The mask is basket woven; one side of the mask has a fiber that surrounds the inner perimeter and is horizontally placed on the bottom of the mask - above the pointed bottom.

The other side of the mask shows circular weaving around the "eyes holes". The outer edges appear to have a rolled appearance with a flat outer wide edge. The Abelam people are of the East Sepik Province.

The southern Abelam or Worsera have poorer soil and smaller yams. The surrounding "eye holes" are painted in a red color and there appears to be a painted darker color in various places on the mask. The Abelam cultivate two distinct categories of yams - a small variety used as ordinary food and a long yam, massive tubers that can be as much as 12 feet long. Lavishly adorned for the presentation ceremony, the finest long yams are essentially transformed into human images, and well decorated.

The masks are never worn by humans. Basket yam masks are painted with local clay pigments and natural dyes. Most of the masks are made for village use. Country or Region: Papua New Guinea.

This item is in the category "Antiques\Ethnographic\Pacific Islands & Oceania". The seller is "riverwalker83" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped worldwide.

  • Provenance: Abelam
  • Originating Region: Papua New Guinea
  • Product Type: Masks
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Material: Fibre


MASK PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG OCEANIC PACIFIC ISLANDER ABELAM BABA WOVEN Sepik River