oceania | Papua New Guinea
Sepik mask
Papua New Guinea
Barag mask
Turubu (Terebu), Coastal Sepik, East Sepik Province
Carved wood and pigments
First part of the 20th century
Height: 18 ¾ in. (48 cm)
Field-collected by Michael Hamson in the 1980s
Ex collection Jacques Lebrat, Paris
Ex private collection, Paris
Barag Mask, Turubu 48 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
As stated by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, the Barag spirit mask - highly stylised and with an unusually pointed long nose - is the rarest form of mask from the Turubu area, East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. The mask is carved in relief and decorated with pigments. The pierced holes around the edges of the mask signify that the mask would have been worn by men a ceremonies such as male initiation and to promote hunting magic.
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