Animal mask

Wounaan-Embera culture, Darien Province, Panama

10 inches, woven palm

This mask comes from the Wounaan-Embera Indians living in the remote Darien Rainforest of Panama and Columbia. It is hand woven with palm fronds using the coil method, much like a basket. The dyes are natural, made from bark, leaves, roots and fruits. I think this particular example is unusually abstract for the Americas, and quite handsome.