Papua New Guinea Spirit Native Ritual Leather Fur Shell & Feather ASMAT HEADBAND

Description

**I am told by a fellow eBayer with a lot of knowledge in this area that this is:
Asmat headband. The fur is a partial pelt from a 'CusCus' (possum family), the seeds edging the band are 'job's tears', the 'braids are made from sago leaf, the bundled feathers are Cassowary and the short black segments on the shell dangles are from cassowary wing feathers. These are a common adornment for the Asmat; primarily worn by men, but were also worn by women.
Thank you for the information!!***
Unique tribal piece!
It has some missing areas- part of the shells on the top and some of the feather “tails” seem to be missing - there are only 6 feather “tails” but there are 13 braided strands (one came unbraided)
Leather / fur top is 17” across
The braided tails are about 19” long
Please email me any questions
I am selling other Papua New Guinea folk art items
Thank you