mask
Catalog Number
2004.58.36Description
Dutch East Indies oval mask made from the shell of a turtle (spine is present on reverse); face has been filled in with mud, with shells on forehead, cheeks, nose and around periphery; eyes are large cowrie shells; a pig tusk exits horizontally from each nostril; mouth has been formed in mud; a woven, wicker border frames face with 2" wide, fibre-brush hanging off wicker from ear to ear (ears have tufts of fiber attached); a wire loop is at top for hanging; "Sepik Mask New Guinea, 1968; hunting spirit mask.History
David Ver Lee participated in a Harvard medical study of natives in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands between 1966 and 1972. The group studied the diseases of the pre-industrialized native cultures and compared them to the diseases common to industrial cultures. While there, Dr. Ver Lee collected dozens of pieces of native artwork that he usually acquired through bartering with a maker or owner. As Dr Ver Lee says, “There were no gift shops on the islands we visited in the 1960’s.”The Ver Lee artifacts are wonderful additions to the Holland Museum’s Pacific Islands collection. The western half of the island of New Guinea is part of the former Dutch Colony of Indonesia, and the Museum has had artifacts from New Guinea in its collection since the 1940s. Many of the Ver Lee objects come from the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea, the independent country that encompasses the eastern half of the island. The Ver Lee objects allow us to represent more fully the rich native cultures of this remote island that has local connections.