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mask

Punu

Artwork Details

mask
n.d.
Punu
wood and pigment
10 3/8 in x 7 1/2 in x 7 in (26.3 cm x 19 cm x 17.8 cm)
Gift of Robert B. Jacobs
1991/2.107

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Description

Delicate white-faced masks depicting young women returned from the world of the ancestors are worn by stilt dancers for funeral rites in Punu communities. The mask, although small and fine in its rendering, is intended to be seen at a distance of some ten feet above the ground. The masked performer appears as an apparition as it dances in a swirling costume of flowing white cloth.

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