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Mask

Date19th to mid-20th century
MediumWood, brass, beads, braided human hair, and traces of paint
DimensionsOverall: 11 7/8 × 10 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. (30.1 × 26.4 × 13.9 cm)
Credit LineR. T. Miller Jr. Fund
Object number1955.43
Status
On view
More Information
This female bush-spirit mask-used by the Wee people to embody forest spirits-is one of the most striking works in the AMAM's African collection. Wee masks are often used in ceremonies such as the annual sowing and harvesting of rice when masqueraders gather for festivals intended to ensure prosperity. Possessing enormous spiritual powers to detect and prevent sorcery, these masks are also used in connection with burials, funerals, and initiation ceremonies.

Forest spirits appear to humans in dreams and choose to be represented through male or female masks. Male masks-generally more aggressive in appearance, with geometric patterns, tusks, horns, and bullet cartridges-are considered more important than female masks. The beautiful and refined oval AMAM mask is serene in appearance, with its vertical scarification pattern, kaolin-covered eyes, and full mouth surrounded by braided human hair, bells, and striking blue glass beads. Many of these components incorporate empowering materials that invest the mask with supernatural force. The curved cheek mark, a characteristic that only appears on female masks, is clearly delineated here. A hook on the top of the mask and hooks along the lower edge were added in order to attach a conical cloth-covered headdress. A raffia skirt covering the dancer's upper leg would have completed the costume.
Exhibition History
African Art
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 6, 1956 - March 6, 1956 )
African Tribal Sculpture
  • University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia (April 1, 1956 - October 31, 1956 )
The African Image
  • The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (February 1, 1959 - February 22, 1959 )
Masks and Masquerades
  • Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA (February 5, 1961 - April 2, 1961 )
Life...After Life: African Funerary Sculpture
  • National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC (November 19, 1981 - March 1, 1982 )
A Matter of Taste: The African Collection at the Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 2, 2002 - June 2, 2002 )
Selections from the Ralph T. Coe Collection of African Art
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (October 3, 2002 - December 10, 2002 )
Form and Function in West African Art: The African Collection at the Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (June 6, 2003 - December 21, 2003 )
From Africa to America
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 24, 2007 - July 29, 2008 )
Collections
  • On View
  • African & Oceanic
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.