A fine and rare Suki Rain Cape, Suki Lagoon; Trans-Fly area, Western Province, Papua New Guinea. The cape of woven raffia folded over and sewn at the top to cover the head. The whole with exquisite geometric patterns sewn into the surface with colored vegetal thread and pigment. The Suki, linguistically a Trans-Fly people, allied with the neighboring Zemakani people in the early 20th century and so became quite fully integrated into furthest eastern edge of Marind culture. The Suki were known as fierce headhunters who preserved the dried heads of their enemies with the skin intact and stretched over a stuffed framework. They were also known for their exceptional textiles such as the present example which are also quite closely related to early examples made by the Marind in West Papua. This type of object is often referred to as a mourning cape, and in some contexts, this may be the case, however it is not clear if the Marind and Suki used these exclusively as Mourning clothing. Acquired by Marc Seidler c. 1970s from Ken Brown. The cape measures 51 x 35 inches.

Fold Marks/crease , otherwise in remarkable Good condition.