Helmet mask (kavat)
late 19th–early 20th century
Object PlaceNew Britain, Papua New Guinea
Medium/TechniqueBark cloth, cane, fiber, pigment
DimensionsOverall: 71.1 cm (28 in.)
Credit LineBequest of William E. Teel
Accession number2014.309
On View
Not on viewClassificationsMasks
Collections
ProvenanceSaid to have been acquired from a German missionary of the United Methodist Church by Reverend Ian Fardon (b. 1925 – d. 1991), Sydney, Australia [see note]. November 9, 1987, sold by Maurice Bonnefoy (dealer; stock no. 1505), New York and Garennes-sur-Eure, France, to William and Bertha Teel, Marblehead, MA; 2014, bequest of William Teel to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 26, 2014)
NOTE: According to information provided by Bonnefoy. Reverend Fardon was himself a Methodist missionary to Papua New Guinea between 1956 and 1974. It is not known exactly when or how it was acquired. Masks of this type were often burned after use.
NOTE: According to information provided by Bonnefoy. Reverend Fardon was himself a Methodist missionary to Papua New Guinea between 1956 and 1974. It is not known exactly when or how it was acquired. Masks of this type were often burned after use.
late 19th century
mid to late 20th century
19th century
late 19th-early 20th century
19th–20th century
late 19th century
20th century