Oceania

Old Melanesian masks

The first mask is from Northern New Ireland, Papua New Guinea; the second is a Tago mask from Tami Island, PNG; and the third comes from Kamge village in the East Sepik Province of PNG. These are 3 of 17 outstanding masks that represent different cultural groups occupying the large part of the South Pacific called Melanesia. They are all from all from the Australia Museum listed below. You will surely recognize some of them in other famous museums and books.

After West Africa, Melanesia has the richest assortment of highly artistic masks in the world. During the 19th century many great European artists were profoundly influenced by the folk art they saw from the colonies. Go to the site below to see many more Melanesian masks. Bob, 1698

https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/cultures/pacific-collection/melanesian/spirit-faces

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