French Trophy Skull Museum Model

Black feathers sweep out on both sides, and the face is studded with small white shells.

This trophy skull museum model is from France and dates to the 20th century. It is clay, shell, feather and boar tusk, of Asmat origin, from Irian Jaya. The Asmat of New Guinea are known for decorating ancestral skulls with clay, seeds, shells and feathers, and models like this reproduce that tradition. Here the face is modeled in orange clay, with gray eye patches studded with white shells. A boar tusk pierces the nose, and white shells band the crown. Long black feathers spray out at each side. It stands on a metal mount, 9 inches deep and 6 high.

Plumage enough for a parade.