Helmet Dancers of the Sulka Tribe, Papua New Guinea (1 Viewer)

[blaster]

Hi all,

I had made these pieces many years back. These anthropormorphic masks were used in ceremonial rites and the dancers were more or less fully covered in grass and foliage. These pieces were quite easy to sculpt from putty and wire. At that time, I had sculpted the foliage from putty but a few years ago, I decided to replace these with a raffia like grass which gives a more authentic look. The pieces were also placed on more elaborate settings. The masks with umbrella overhangs are known as "hemlaut" and the others are "tokati". The rather unusual two-headed mask was worn by two dancers who had to hop together in unison.

So enjoy.

Rgds Victor

 

[blaster]

Just to prove that I haven't been sniffing too much glue, here are some pictorial references from the web. The masks were made from pith and generally painted a bright pink.

Rgds Victor

 

[Wolfgang_UK]

Hello Victor,
once again a most unusual figurine. Looks really good indeed. Great job!! Thank you for shareing.
Kind regards
Wolfgang

 

[blaster]

Hello Wolfgang and all,

Glad you liked these. I dabble in almost all periods and genre of historical human civilisation solely because I see this medium (figure modelling) as being the perfect way to create miniature reconstructions with dioramic possibilities for a fraction of the cost of real museum displays.

Rgds Victor