H x W x D: 27.9 x 15.9 x 8.9 cm (11 x 6 1/4 x 3 1/2 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Côte d'Ivoire
Date:
Early to mid-20th century
Label Text:
An effective blending of human and animal features characterizes elephant face masks from central Côte d'Ivoire. This mask captures the essential traits of the forest elephant, which is smaller than the savanna variety and disappearing from the forests of western Africa. The mask's human traits can be seen in the linear patterns on the forehead that indicate the hairline and suggest a coiffure.
In central Côte d'Ivoire masking, the elephant denotes the power to transform and respond to change, a marked contrast to its meaning in regalia, such as flywhisks and staffs, that tend to affirm the stability and authority of the chief.
Description:
Wood face mask with large rounded ears and a small tusk, depicting an elephant.
Provenance:
Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York, -- to 1984
Exhibition History:
Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., February 15, 2007-March 31, 2009
Published References:
Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2006. "African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection." Tribal Arts 43, p. 83, no. 8.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen, Bryna Freyer and Andrea Nicolls. 2007. African Vision: The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 164-165, no. 51.
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