M0012654: Kovave bark mask, New Guinea. / M0012655: Ceremonial shield, New Guinea

Photograph of a Kovave bark mask, used in initiation ceremonies of the Elema people of the Papuan Gulf, New Guinea, alongside a wooden ceremonial shield representing a stylized version of the human form from New Guinea, as on display in the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum. These items were accessioned by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum (R8295/1936, 29/1952) but are not held by Wellcome Collection. This photograph was included in the catalogue for a Wellcome Historical Medical Museum Exhibition illustrating the medicine of the aboriginal peoples in the British Commonwealth, London, 1952.