A new guinea feathered headdress

HIGHLANDS, PERHAPS IPILI

Details

A new guinea feathered headdress
Highlands, perhaps Ipili
Composed of a cap of dense human hair covered by a bark cloth panel, with three soft fur strips and loop, surmounted by a circlet of brown cassowary feathers
25cm. diam.

Literature

Biebuyck, D., and Van den Abbeele, N., The Power of Headdresses, Brussels, 1984, p.224, Pl.178

Lot Essay

Biebuyck (p.224) notes that on festive occasions wigs are decorated with many accessories such as leaves, bark cloth strips, feathers, fungus, bands of possum hide and orchid stem braiding. The asymetry of the decoration of the present example gives it a jaunty look

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