Very little has been written on the art of the New Guinea highlands. Chris Boylan and Greta North, in their article in Tribal Arts a number of years ago wrote that these gourd masks are called "boni kofa" and come from the Avonofi of the Eastern Highlands. They state that they relate to leprosy—which was a curse of angry spirits. This mask is a very old one collected in the early 1960s by the pioneer of Highlands art, Stanley Moriarty. I enjoy the simple pureness of this example as opposed to the over the top nature of more recent examples. This one has a crack on the forehead with the remnants of an old native repair. The nose is composed of some thin paper-like material. The piece exudes a black oil not unlike old Fang sculptures. The mask is 11" in height and sells for $5000. Questions?