Sepik River mask

Mwai Mask, 20th century
Melanesia, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
Wood
Purchased from Gallery 43, London with support from the National Fund for Acquisitions, 1965
Museum number 1965-43
This mask is a representation of a mythical ancestral spirit. Such masks were revered in the belief that spirits could be consulted through them. When worn it would have been attached to the front of a conical basketry framework decorated with leaves and flowers.