NMM 7282. Natural trumpet (towel), Blackwater River, Sepik Region, Papua New Guinea, 1970. Side-blown, wooden, natural trumpet. Male head with dark cowry-shell eyes and protruding ears. Body of instrument carved with zig-zag, oval, and curvilinear patterns. The holes in the earlobes may be connected to the tradition of body decoration (bilas) throughout New Guinea. Piercings, tattoos, scarification, body painting, and costumes are practices that continue to flourish in most indigenous communities, providing a sense of tradition and identity. Length: 72.3 cm (28-1/5"). Joe F. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999.