Tabar Head (Kovabat) or Helmet Mask
Tabar Group, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea (map), c. 1930s
Carved and painted wood with natural fibers (possibly coconut)
Ex–Australian collection
16.5” h (22” w/ base) x 9” w (42 [56 w/ base] x 23 cm)
Price: $1,800
In northern New Ireland, carved black-encrusted heads fashioned from hardwood “were placed on bodies made from bush materials and used in the malagan sub-tradition called Marada that was associated with rainmaking. They were kept after use, and when needed again they would be washed then repainted” (Gunn 2006: 248).
