Mask

Museum number:
5-12973
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050012973
Alternate number:
B-1103 (previous number (Bascom’s number))
Accession number:
Acc.3100
Description:
Mask, anthropomorphic; wood with copper overlay; woven fiber balls on head; one fiber ball on braided raffia cord attached to hole in chin; carved out white painted teeth; raffia netting on back to secure on head.
Donor:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection place:
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Verbatim coll. place:
Congo (Kinshasa), Zaire, Kasai-Sankura area, Ba-Salampasu
Culture or time period:
Ba Salampasu
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1965
Materials:
Copper (metal), Raffia (fiber), and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
December 16, 1974
Context of use:
Use in circumcision ceremonies
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
height 37 centimeters
Comment:
Mass produced; dozens in the store; but Fagg says that Vansina (?) verified their authentic style.B/W photo stored with Bascom Collection Index card file. PAHMA Storage Loc: 20A Mez, 123B
Loans:
S1965-1966 #2: Civic Arts Center (Walnut Creek) (July 7, 1965–August 5, 1965), S1968-1969 #39: Contra Costa College (November 18, 1968–December 27, 1968), S1968-1969 #87: College of Marin (April 3, 1969–May 2, 1969), S1969-1970 #32: Santa Rosa Junior College (October 24, 1969–October 31, 1969), and S1981-1982 #31: Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts (December 30, 1981–February 1, 1982)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 titled Mask, accession number 5-12973, described as Mask, anthropomorphic; wood with copper overlay; woven fiber balls on head; one fiber ball on braided raffia cord attached to hole in chin; carved out white painted teeth; raffia netting on back to secure on head.Hearst Museum object 2 of 3 titled Mask, accession number 5-12973, described as Mask, anthropomorphic; wood with copper overlay; woven fiber balls on head; one fiber ball on braided raffia cord attached to hole in chin; carved out white painted teeth; raffia netting on back to secure on head.Hearst Museum object 3 of 3 titled Mask, accession number 5-12973, described as Mask, anthropomorphic; wood with copper overlay; woven fiber balls on head; one fiber ball on braided raffia cord attached to hole in chin; carved out white painted teeth; raffia netting on back to secure on head.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 5-12973, described as Mask, anthropomorphic; wood with copper overlay; woven fiber balls on head; one fiber ball on braided raffia cord attached to hole in chin; carved out white painted teeth; raffia netting on back to secure on head.

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