Asmat Body Mask Witco 20"h x 5"w x 3"d

20"h x 5"w x 3"d

Well-developed patina

Haida or Tlingit the carved horn handle attached with two copper pins

Rendered from red cedar

16 x 20 in

Asmat Body Mask Witco 20"h x 5"w x 3"dThe Asmat people of southwest New Guinea create and use elaborate woven masks for ritual feasts that celebrate the passage of the recently deceased from the world of the living to the ancestral realm known as safan. Each body mask is a complex ensemble comprising a wealth of locally sourced materials including mulberry fiber, sago palm leaves, wood, bamboo, feathers and seeds. The torso and shoulders are constructed of rattan in a single rod coiled