Mask (Rom)
19th-20th century
Ambrym
Arts of the Pacific Islands
On the island of Ambrym, masked performance is controlled by a complex system of copyright. Rights to the knowledge of mask and costume construction, as well as rights to perform them, must be purchased from the man who owns a mask’s copyright, and often only by men of certain ranks.
This rom mask was never meant to be seen as an isolated sculpture and cannot be fully understood without the dynamic costume, the performer’s movement, the accompanying music, and the audience’s response. Rom masks are typically adorned with feathers, barkcloth, leaves, hair, and other materials and are worn atop a costume of banana leaves. Each mask represents a specific ancestor spirit and would be performed publicly to show off a man’s newly achieved right to wear it.
This rom mask was never meant to be seen as an isolated sculpture and cannot be fully understood without the dynamic costume, the performer’s movement, the accompanying music, and the audience’s response. Rom masks are typically adorned with feathers, barkcloth, leaves, hair, and other materials and are worn atop a costume of banana leaves. Each mask represents a specific ancestor spirit and would be performed publicly to show off a man’s newly achieved right to wear it.
- Maker/Artist
- Ambrym
- Classification
- Masks
- Formatted Medium
- Wood, pigment, plant fibers
- Locations
- Place made: Ambrym, Malampa Province, Vanuatu
- Dimensions
- 21 × 11 1/4 × 7 1/2 in. (53.3 × 28.6 × 19.1 cm)
- Departments
- Arts of the Pacific Islands
- Accession Number
- 2008.26.5
- Credit Line
- Gift of Altria
- Exhibitions
- Infinite Blue
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
- Museum Location
- This item is not on view
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