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Funerary Mask
1910-1913
Penn Museum
Philadelphia, United States
Details
- Title: Funerary Mask
- Date Created: 1910-1913
- Location Created: New Ireland, Bismarck Archipelago
- Physical Dimensions: 42 x 40 x 19 cm
- External Link: Penn Museum online collection
- Medium: Wood, Plant Fiber, Rattan, Cotton, Feather, Lime, Sea Snail Operculum, Pigment
- Object Number: P4555
- Descriptive Note: Funerary mask (tatanua). Carved wooden face surmounted by large semi-circular headdress of trade cloth and plant fiber. Eyes of sea snail opercula. Red, black and white pigment. Helmet mask worn by male dancers in performances at large scale, clan-sponsored multi-village mortuary celebrations. The crest of fiber “hair” may refer to a tradition in which, as part of mortuary observances, young men shaved the sides of their heads, which were then covered with a plaster of powdered lime. The two sides of a mask always differ, and the line of dancers turns to display each in turn.
- Credit Line: Purchased from J. F. G. Umlauff, 1913
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