Big helmet mask «baba»
Maprik, Papua-Neuguinea
rattan base with a wickerwork coating, spreaded with a thick layer of clay, the face framed by a plaited rim, a raised forehead ridge merging into a long, trunk-like nose, a flap-like protruding lower jaw, strengthened by a thin wooden plate, pierced slanting eyes, bundles of cassowary feathers at the rim, slightly dam., mass missing in some areas; masks of that kind depict the «spirit of kutagwa» (a strong female spirit of the forest). Masquerades are performed during the so-called «baga celebrations».
H: 51 cm

Lit.: Aumann, Georg, Kunst und Kunsthandwerk aus Neu Guinea, Ausst.kat. Natur-Museum Coburg 1986, p. 73/74