H x W x D: 36.4 x 14.2 x 16 cm (14 5/16 x 5 9/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Type:
Mask
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
Despite the distinctive depiction of scarification, the source and use of this mask is difficult to pin down. It is from an area where art moved across ethnic divisions and among several associations. It may have been used in the formal funeral, not burial, of a mask society member, for entertainment or to keep order in the community.
Description:
Wood crest mask in the form of a human head with a conical neck, projecting top knot, two raised lines carved from under the eyes to the side of head and projecting blocks representing scarification on the center of the forehead and the sides of the face.
Provenance:
Paul and Ruth Tishman, New York, before 1966 to 1984
Exhibition History:
Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, October 16, 1968-January 5, 1969; The High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, August 31-November 1, 1970; University of Texas College of Fine Arts, Austin; City Art Museum, St. Louis, August 20-October 17, 1971; Des Moines Art Center; Huntington Galleries, Huntington, WV
Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Spring-Summer 1967
Arts Meconnus de l'Afrique Noire: Collection de Paul Tishman, Musee de l'Homme, Paris, 1966
Published References:
Arts connus et arts méconnus de l'Afrique noire, Collection Paul Tishman. 1966. Paris: Musee de l'Homme, no. 69.
Muze'on Yisra'el. 1967. Masterpieces of African Art: Tishman Collection. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, no. 125.
Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. 1968. Sculpture of Black Africa: The Paul Tishman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, pp. 85-86, no. 88.
Content Statement:
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