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SHAMANS,
ANCESTORS AND DONORS
A look at tribal arts and cultures in old Asia

Ancestor mask
Kirant culture, Eastern Nepal
Prior to 19th century
Wood with coarse patina
Traces of smears of sacrificial substances
H. 26 cm

Gift of Marc Petit, Musée du Quai Branly Inv. no. 70.2003.1.8

Certainly one of the oldest known tribal masks, notable for its mild features for a thick layer of smears of sacrificial
substances, and for the presence of a hole in the forehead, probably designed to hold a precious relic or magical substance.
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