Mask from the lower Ramu River. Red and blue enamel paint with traces of white lime pigment dots.
Eyes are shell.
Lower Ramu artifacts have similarities to carvings from the Lower Sepik River and adjacent coastal areas. Masks and slit-gong drums from the Lower Ramu are traded along the coast as far as the Murik Lakes and out to Manam Island and the Schouten Islands in the Bismark Sea. This mask is used in ceremonial dances. We saw 6 frames being constructed in 1986 at Banis Pig near Bosmun. Only initiated men worked in this banis.