Rare skull mask

---

Description

animal skull, clay-like mass, nassa snails, shells, boar tusks, cassowary feathers, rattan, inventory no. “425” on the reverse, base

Skull masks have a long tradition in Papua. Reche reports from the South Sea expedition of 1908-10 on masks based on human skulls (Reche, 1913, p. 400). Later, masks made of animal skeletal parts, especially turtle shell or the sternum of a cassowary, were found (cf. Aumann, 1986, p. 66 ff.).

---

Comparing literature

Reche, Otto, Der Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss, Hamburg 1913, p. 400 f. Aumann, Georg, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk aus Neu Guinea, Coburg 1986, p. 66 ff.

---