Oceania
Erub Island, Torres Strait
Mask
Eighteenth-nineteenth century
Sea-turtle shell, clam shell, resin, sennit, wood, human hair, cassowary feathers
H. 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm)
Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection

It is not surprising to find turtle shell prominent in objects from Erub Island, an island in the Torres Strait, a narrow band of water between Australia and New Guinea: it is a place known for the large number of turtles that come to its shores. Worn at boys' initiations and funerals, turtle shell masks were made by carving and incising the shell, bending it with heat, and lashing or sticking pieces together with mastic, all techniques shown in this mask.