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FACE MASK called RELIQUARY SKULL
Sawos Culture, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
First half of the 20th century
Bones and cowries
H: 10; Wt: 17.5; Thickness: 2 cm
Facial mask sculpted from a section of bone and embellished with cowry pearls for the eyes, the corners of the lips and the middle of the forehead. The anthropomorphic figure has small, circular ears, a half-open mouth, and stretched nostrils.
It was once accompanied by its amenities of basketry, pigment and feathers.
Ref: V23162JUQU