Dance Mask (Kavat)
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-masks
Culture
Baining
Date20th Century
Made AtEast New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumBark cloth, bamboo cane, paint, raffia and feather
Dimensions60 × 15 × 31 in. (152.4 × 38.1 × 78.7 cm)
Credit LineCollected on behalf of the Bowers Museum by the Roski-Keller-Martin Expedition
Object number2009.1.4
DescriptionFire dance helmet mask also known as a kavat from the Baining people on the Gazelle Peninsula from East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea, Melanesia. Dates to the 20th century. This mask is made of beige bark cloth sewn to a light-weight wooden frame made from bamboo canes. The lips resemble a duck's lips. The eyes share a single narrow tall frame; this frame is curved around its edges and comes up a little further towards the front then the back. That same frame and the top of the helmet are decorated in simple yet bold red and black geometric floral-like patterns.On View
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