mask (dance & live theatre)

Wooden Tolai dance mask, consisting of a wooden section over the face that is mainly painted white, with a red edge and black nose, and is trimmed with a vegetable fibre 'beard' around the bottom and side edges. This is topped by strands of vegetable fibre representing human hair on top of the head, trimmed with a sphere of dried leaves or moss at the top. A wooden structure rising above the head is a human figure with raised arms, painted mainly red, black, and white. The side supports have triangular shapes along the outside edges. The figure is topped with a black and white feather headdress.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
2001.15
Date
1994 - 1997
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 930 mm x 300 mm x 200 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; vegetable fibre; feather; pigment
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
World Gallery > Oceania > Papua New Guinea - masks
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk