Part of the Oceanic area is the South Pacific, which includes the small islands east of Papua New Guinea. Many of the islands were first visited by Americans and Europeans about 200 years ago at the time Africa was being colonized as well. Both areas had masks and other traditional art that fascinated the explorers. This Malagan mask from the island of New Ireland, used for ceremonies honoring the dead, is indeed spectacular. Rarely do we see Oceanic masks of this quality outside museums or books. From a museum collection, this mask is shown on page 70 of our new book, Masks of the World.
