New Guinea Inspired Mask – Style No. 4 – Painted Finish – Wall Hanging – US* Shipping Included

Look familiar? If you’re into Tiki, it should.

About the source of our inspiration
Our mask is inspired by a suspension hook from New Guinea that was displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (The Met) in the 1950s, and was also published in 1954 in the book “Oceanic Art”,  by Herbert Tischner and Friedrich Hewicker. This book, “Oceanic Art”, has been a wonderful resource for many in the Tiki community throughout the years. While no longer in print, it is possible to find a used copy(https://tikiland.co/oceanicart)– it’s a great addition to any collection.

The original suspension hook, featured in The Met’s collection and the book, seems to also be the inspiration for the famed tropical supply and decor company, “Oceanic Arts(https://www.oceanicarts.net/)“, New Guinea Mask that hangs on the walls of Disney’s Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar, False Idol of San Diego, probably every Islands restaurant, and many, many commercial and home Tiki bars. 

It was Oceanic Arts that was singlehandedly responsible for popularizing this very well known face and mask!

About Oceanic Arts
“Oceanic Arts”, founded in 1956 by Robert (Bob) Van Oosting & LeRoy Schmaltz, was renowned for steadily supplying the Tropical Décor Trade with Unique and Authentic Polynesian Arts and building materials for 65 Years before permanently closing to the public in 2021. 

Oceanic Arts was known for outfitting many Polynesian themed movies and shows with props, as well as outfitting Disney’s Adventureland, Tiki, and Polynesian themed attractions and resorts.

The original suspension hook featured in The Met’s collection was only 29 inches in length, and the, now iconic, head/“mask” at the top was a small portion of that.  When Oceanic Arts created their inspired mask, it was 3ft in length!  In the photos here you can see the original full carving, as well as just the head piece.

About our New Guinea Inspired Mask
Our New Guinea Inspired Mask was sculpted from scratch by our TikiLand Trading Co. crew, and made in-house in our Laguna Beach, California studio by David O’Connell (of the Shrunken Monkey) and Chandler Wade (of ChanTiki).

The mask is made of a strong light weight resin, made and painted to look like wood, and comes with an attached hook, ready to hang! We used light weight resin to help keep the shipping cost within reason – and it makes it easier to hang as well.

Each mask is painted by hand, and thus unique. The mask you order will look similar, but not identical, to the one featured in the listing photo at the top.

• MADE IN THE USA in Laguna Beach, CA
• Masks are made to order.
• Our mask is 28 inches in length and 13.25 inches wide.
• *The cost of shipping in the continental USA is included in the price!
• *For shipments outside of the continental USA, please reach out to [email protected] for a custom shipping quote.