Belonged to the Batak people of Sumatra, Indonesia. Carved intricately out of hardwood and considered as quite a rare and a very interesting finding. Still in very good condition, museum quality, almost perfect in reflects to it’s old age. Highly collectible!
In general, Batak masks were used in various ceremonies, most notably in funerals. Main purpose of this masks is to frighten and confuse the spirits of the deceased, to prevent them finding it’s way back to the village and haunting the villagers. Large helmet mask like this one in particular would have originally had a cotton and fiber headdress sticking out from the large hole at the top of the mask, emulating the hair and headdress of shaman’s staffs and other sculptural works. The size of the mask would have made the dancer whom wearing the mask appear similar to those sculptural figures which usually have disproportionately large heads.
Approx. Size:
Height 68cm
Length 20cm
Width 21cm
Weight 5.2kg (Excluding Packing)
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