Barkcloth Painting
Not on view
Complex iconography executed in a technique that employs black and red pigments in a dynamic reverse painting style attest to the quality of textile works from the Uramot Baining people who live in the central mountains of the Gazelle peninsula, East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. This painted barkcloth is a vibrant example of the genre and illustrates the dynamic iconography that relates to important clan designs used on various art forms in the region including the flat lengths of barkcloth that are stretched over fiber frames to create impressive towering masks. Composite helmet masks and/or their side panels are used in ritual cycles for both day and night time masking ceremonies.
