Kava Mask, Fiji

This is a mask I bought in Fiji and which now sits on my office wall. I like the details of the cowrie shells, the bulbous nose and the earthy patterns and woven frame. It's quite an old mask, I was told, and certainly it wasn't something knocked up on the spot for the tourist trade.

I bought it in 1997 when I wrote this travel piece for the Financial Times. I've called it a Kava mask but that might not be the right description. I just found a similar mask described that way on this cafe web site in Florida.

It's another dull morning so I didn't feel like venturing out of my office . No matter, there's plenty of oddball stuff to photograph here.