Mask (Barak)
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-masks
Culture
Boiken
Datelate 19th - 20th Century
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood and paint
Dimensions19 × 5 1/8 × 12 in. (48.3 × 13 × 30.5 cm)
Credit LineLoan courtesy of Gayle and Edward P. Roski
Object numberL.2010.4.42
DescriptionThis mask, vernacular name known as Barak, comes from the Boiken people of Bungain village in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea. It dates to the late 19th - 20th century. This is a roughly carved stylized mask with some traces of red, white and black paint. The barak mask was designed as a mask to connect the audience through the dancer to the creator who lives in the spirit world. Masks were created in the forest and stored in the men's Spirit House (Haus Tamabaran). The young and uninitiated were forbidden to see the masks - or even witness the highly ritualized dances.On View
On view
20th Century
