Bark belt with relief carvings of human faces

Artist Unknown

MediumWood (bark)

DimensionsL. 65 1/2 x H. 6 1/8 in. (166.4 x 15.6 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes

Object number86.10

On View

Not on view

Label Text
This bark belt, which apparently belonged to a large-framed male, was intended to enhance the wearer's prestige by demonstrating his wealth and good taste. The belt is decorated with exaggerated carvings of human faces, a design that was sometimes used on cult objects. Artists of the Papuan Gulf region excelled in adapting motifs from religious art for use on secular objects. The rich color contrasts, enhanced by filling depressions in the carving with lime, also contribute to the expressive power of this article of clothing.

Published ReferencesRebeca Martin Nagy, "New Galleries for the African, Ancient American, and Oceanic Collections," North Carolina Museum of Art Preview and Calendar of Events (January/February 2000), illus. (b-w) 8.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Mary Duke Biddle Gallery, “Kaleidoscope: Pattern in Art,” September 15, 1988-June 25, 1989.
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