AN IATMUL NATURALISTICALLY OVERMODELED AND PAINTED HUMAN SKULL, MIDDLE SEPIK RIVER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, EARLY 20TH CENTURY, the finely modeled clay covered skull with portrait like facial features flanked by ears having double suspension holes, covered throughout in a white wash on terracotta colored ground surface,centering delicate umber red scrolling details, enclosing cowrie shell eyes within blackened eye "mask" sockets, beneath a high forehead and cowrie shell trimmed hairline before layers of tightly braided black human hair dreadlocks covering the skull cranium. Provenance: Acquired from the Carlebach Gallery, New York City, N.Y., November 1957. Height: 6 1/2" Width: 6" Depth: 9"