Over-Modeled Skull
ClassificationsSculpture
Date20th Century
Made AtVanuatu
MediumHuman skull, vegetable matter, sap and pigment
Dimensions5 7/8 × 5 5/8 × 9 1/4 in. (14.9 × 14.3 × 23.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Jaqueline Anhalt
Object number81.108.4
DescriptionThis created portrait of the dead is from Vanuatu. The skull of an important man was removed after the body decomposed. Using a vegetable mixture and sap, the skull was over-modeled to replicate the face of the deceased as closely as possible. The skull was then used as part of an effigy in ceremonies for the dead, then later placed in the ceremonial men's house.On View
On viewCollections
mid to late 20th Century
mid to late 20th Century
c. 1980