Mask
| Culture | Iatmul |
|---|---|
| Culture | Nyaura (Subgroup of the Iatmul) |
| Title | Mask (Mei) |
| Date | Late 19th–early 20th century |
| Medium | Wood, pigment, and and cowrie shells |
| Dimensions | Object: 25 1/16 × 3 3/4 × 4 in. (63.7 × 9.5 × 10.2 cm) Overall: 25 1/16 × 3 3/4 × 4 in. (63.7 × 9.5 × 10.2 cm) |
| Credit Line | Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 2010.3 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A wooden mask in the shape of a face with bird-like features, with a curved, pointed beak. The eyes are made with inlaid cowrie shells, and the mask is incised with many designs.
The complex, dynamic society of the Iatmul, a group living along the middle Sepik River, has produced a prodigious number of masks, figures, and other decorated objects. Although called a mask, this sculpture has neither eye holes nor sufficient width to cover the face. Instead, it was originally attached to a large, full-length fiber cone that covered the masquerader and was decorated with a colorful array of shells, feathers, leaves, and flowers. Mai masqueraders appeared at dances that were junior analogues to those honoring ancestors, which were performed by senior initiated men; the masks represent ancestral spirits.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Mask | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2010.3