Mask

Museum number:
5-13706
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21050013706
Alternate number:
B-1324 (previous number (Bascom’s number))
Accession number:
Acc.3446
Description:
Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).
Donor:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection place:
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Verbatim coll. place:
Central Africa, Congo, Central Bantu, Kuba; Purchased from Axel Tollesens Kunsthandel in Copenhagen
Culture or time period:
Ba Kuba
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1972
Materials:
Copper (metal), Glass (material), Raffia (fiber), Wood (plant material), and Wool yarn
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 19, 1978
Context of use:
Royal mask (cf. 5-12913) opposed by mboom mask which represents a rival who desired Woot's sister-wife and has been variously interpreted as a hydrocephaleus man, a pygmy, and a commoner of low rank.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
height 32 centimeters
Comment:
Illustrated: Bascom 1973:112; PAHMA Storage Loc: 20A Mez, 123A
Loans:
S1981-1982 #31: Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts (December 30, 1981–February 1, 1982), S1989-1990 #13: California State University, East Bay (January 10, 1990–February 13, 1990), and S1992-1993 #8: Blackhawk Museums (November 17, 1992–unknown)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 2 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 3 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 4 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 5 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 6 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 7 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 8 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 9 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 10 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 11 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 12 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 13 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 14 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 15 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 16 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 17 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).Hearst Museum object 18 of 18 titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 5-13706, described as Helmet mask, anthropomorphic; stained wood with sheet copper overlay at mouth and above eyes; exposed wood divided into finely incised diamonds in low relief; trimmed with cowries, black, white and lt. blue beads; pr. clear green glass beads front of each other ear; burlap skullcap; brown seed pods and bits or red wool at base; 2 triangular flaps of raffia pile cloth (1 at each ear).

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