This is a wood sculpture of the kenyalang from the Iban of Borneo (a group of the Dayak people). Kenyalang is the Iban word for the rhinoceros hornbill ( Buceros rhinoceros ), a large forest bird so named for the pronounced horn-like projection on its beak. Measuring just under 40 inches wide, this sculpture is known as an a nak kenyalang or child kenyalang . Much larger and more elaborate kenyalang sculptures, measuring up to 10 feet wide, were created for several of the principal ceremonies of the Iban associated with headhunting, healing, and the harvest. These smaller sculptures belonged to individual families and were kept in the family units of the Iban longhouse.
Hornbill figure, probably Iban people, Baram district, Kalimantan, Borneo, pre-1896. Collected by William H. Furness, Hiram M. Hiller, and Charles Hose, Alfred Craven Harrison, Jr., Gift of the Free Museum of Science and Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1904. PM 04-19-70/63130. © President and Fellows of Harvard College.
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The museum is open 361 days a year, so chances are good that we'll be open when you want to visit around the holidays. We're open 9:00–5:00 daily except Thanksgiving, Dec. 24, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1.
Daily through January 6, 2019
Fantastic Beasts Scavenger Hunt
Celebrate the film  F antastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by embarking on your very own search for magical creatures. Dress up as your favorite character from the Wizarding World. Explore a maze of hallways and hidden rooms, peek around corners and into shadows to discover the real creatures and stories behind these fantastic beasts at three Harvard Museums of Science & Culture.
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Far & Near
New Peabody Museum Press Book
Since its founding in 1886, the Peabody Museum has been collecting, caring for, exhibiting, and researching objects produced by human cultures around the world. Far & Near provides a tantalizing glimpse into the wonders of these collections, which reflect the skilled artistry of human hands and the endless creativity of the human mind. Available at the front desk.
Wednesday, December 26–Friday, December 28, and Sunday, December 30 and Monday, December 31, 11:00 am–4:00 pm
School Vacation Week Activities
at the Harvard Semitic Museum
Free ,  fun, drop-in family activities allow visitors to explore arts from the ancient Near East at the adjacent Harvard Semitic Museum. Activities change daily: make Egyptian accessories, hear a story, inscribe clay tablets, decode hieroglyphics, build a ziggurat or pyramid.
"A unicorn" Woodcut after C. Gessner, Wellcome_V0021193; Vacation activities photo by David M. Barron.
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