Mask

Museum number:
2-6442
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020006442
Alternate number:
13-4378 (associated catalog number), 25-2289 a,b (associated catalog number), and x-2635 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.167
Description:
Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Pastolik, Wade Hampton Borough, Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska; Pastolik
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
1898
Materials:
Feather (material), Pigment (pigment, black, white and red), and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
Accession date:
1904
Context of use:
Dancing.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
whole— depth 4 inches, whole— width 10 inches, height 35.5 centimeters, and whole— height 20.25 inches
Comment:
In 1974 2 leg-shaped appendages found and attached to left side of face. Photo: 13-4378; 25-2289 a,b. Published: Ray, Pl. XI, p. 177-78. Exhibited and Illustrated: "The Far North: 2000 Years of American Eskimo and Indian Art" National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1973 (exhibited March 7-May 15, 1973, then traveling). References: Nelson Pl. C#3 and Ray Pl. 61, text p. 218 (USNM 33105); see Nelson pp. 406-07 for description of almost identical mask in USNM and reconstruction of LMA mask based on Nelson's description and his Pl. C:3.
Loans:
S1945-1946 #4: Winfield Scott Wellington (March 11, 1946–October 28, 1955), S1963-1964 #48: Life Sciences Bldg. Photo Lab (UC Berkeley) (January 9, 1964–January 29, 1964), S1966-1967 #3: Education Department (UC Berkeley) (August 12, 1966–September 2, 1966), S1967-1968 #118: Institution of American Indian Arts (April 11, 1968–July 15, 1968), S1969-1970 #13: Museum of Fine Arts, Texas (August 7, 1969–January 2, 1970), S1970-1971 #15: Art Department (UC Berkeley)/Jane Dwyer (August 17, 1970–August 17, 1970), S1970-1971 #16: Department of Anthropology (UC Berkeley)/Jane Dwyer (August 17, 1970–August 17, 1970), S1971-1972 #26: Whitney Museum of American Art (October 4, 1971–January 20, 1972), S1971-1972 #76: University Art Museum (UC Berkeley) (January 21, 1972–August 23, 1972), S1972-1973 #16: Amon Carter Museum of Western Art (October 16, 1972–June 11, 1974), S1984-1985 #4: Museum of Modern Art, New York (July 27, 1984–October 24, 1985), S1990-1991 #23: Blackhawk Museums (March 20, 1991–August 16, 1994), S2007-2008 #1: Anchorage Museum at Rasmunson Center (January 10, 2008–August 13, 2010), and S2017-2018 #3: Heard Museum (October 29, 2018–February 18, 2019)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Mask, accession number 2-6442, described as Wooden mask - most likely of sculpin; painted teardrop shape with round face in lower part; face has crescent mouth with peg teeth, 1 round eye, smaller crescent opposite; white face, otherwise black with fingertip-applied white dots; red paint lining mouth, eyes, and all other openings; black designs on bottom half of face. 2 leg-shaped appendages attached to left side of face. Bird quill attachments and feather.

Tools