Artwork Page for Yam Mask

Details / Information for Yam Mask

Yam Mask

1900s

Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Abelam People, 20th century

Medium
pigment, basketry
Measurements
Overall: 47.3 x 44.3 x 14.7 cm (18 5/8 x 17 7/16 x 5 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Nathaniel Sloane in memory of Rose White 1998.84
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Abelam men compete in growing extraordinarily large yams (over a meter in length), which they then display, adorned with basketry masks.
Mask with a headdress like a semi-circle with yellow-green, orange, and black bands arcing over the head alternating with white zig-zags, the background showing through the gaps. For the face, two roughly oval sides tent up at the center with concentric circles like eyes on either side, first black, then burnt orange, then cream, and then several yellow-brown before an overarching black band circles the face. Ears made from an orange circle within a cream circle flank the face.

Yam Mask

1900s

Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Abelam People, 20th century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.