**First Time At Auction**

Oceania, Papua New Guinea, East Sepik region, Abelam, early 20th century CE. A large woven mask with distinctive, concentric ovoid eyes, perky round ears, and a knobby appendage at the top, all finely woven from natural fibers and hand painted with red and grey pigments, created for festivals surrounding the cherished yam, the crucial crop of the Abelam people of northeast Papua New Guinea. Masks like this example have traditionally been used to adorn the heads of huge tubers, rather than humans. Curious? Indeed, the Abelam cultivate massive yams in addition to the ordinary variety. These can be as much as 12 feet long. Size: 8" L x 8.375" W x 11.5" H (20.3 cm x 21.3 cm x 29.2 cm).

Provenance: ex-Adeon Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA, acquired prior to 1970

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#122145

Minor pigment loss and fraying to some fibers on surface, else intact and very good.