East Asia

A Perfect Stranger

Mystery
Mystery

Q:  I am a collector of Oceanic material and just bought this mask at a local auction. It is 21 inches long and seems to be old, but I really don’t know where it’s from. It’s full of decoration, mostly scorpions and birds.  Niek, 701

A:  This is a mystery for the Mask Man as well. Sure, it could be from somewhere in Oceania, but I wouldn’t rule out other areas of Asian, or even Africa. I hope you came to the right place. Maybe one of our visitors will recognize something familiar in your pictures and make a comment. It doesn’t look like a tourist souvenir. Please help!

2 Comments

  • Trent

    My best guess would be that this is a mask created by the indigenous people of the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. The elongated nose and designs on the side look very similar to other masks i have seen from the region.

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