Artist: Unknown
Date: 19ty-20th Century
Material: Feathers of the Bird of Paradise, Bamboo, Vegetable Fibers, Shells, Wood

This elegant ceremonial headdress with two feathered sceptres belonged to the Mekeo population in Papua New Guinea, and dates from the early twentieth century. These objects were donated in 1925 by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to the new Missionary Ethnological Museum.

This ceremonial attire, composed of an elegant ritual headdress was made with feathers of various birds including birds of paradise and cockatoos, commissioned by the missionaries to the Mekeo natives. Thus these pieces are a perfect reproduction of the original traditional attire used in the Mekeo ceremonies. Reports state that the making of such objects was an ancient secret of the mountain people.