Asmat Body Mask Witco Decorated With Kneeling Ancestor Figure

Decorated With Kneeling Ancestor Figure

otherwise fine with no repairs

Dimension:

Rendered from red cedar

Well-developed patina

Asmat Body Mask Witco Decorated With Kneeling Ancestor FigureThe 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