helmet masks

Iron oil can headdress mask constructed by splitting the can and turning it inside out to be welded back together as a headband. This section of the mask retains inside its original BP livery. The top of this headband is crossed by two arching straps of iron which support a plane sculpture on four feet. The plane is carved from wood with inserted metal portions to mark its guns wires and engine exhaust. The plane is a propeller driven fighter painted grey with a USA flag on the tail fin and USAF stars on the wings and fuselage. Like the other one of the pair, the wings are painted with F2 and a propeller of card is pinned onto the nose. Masks of this kind are used in modern dances commemorating military campaigns in the Torres Straits during the Second World War.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
1998.191
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 390 x 680 x 500 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
wood; metal; vegetable fibre; paint; rubber
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
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Collection Information

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