18-AbelamBapaHelmetMask-FieldCollectingNewGuineaArt
In some instances the owner of an old artifact will hand the piece to one of his small children to bring forth—sometimes to give the child a sense of responsibility and sometimes as if handing off the tradition a final time. I never owned this Abelam bapa helmet mask so I assume they just brought it out to show us—which is often the case. Photo by Jim Sanders March 2007.