Face mask

Object Details

Dogon artist

Label Text

Traditionally Dogon masks are controlled by the Awa society, a group of predominantly male initiates who conduct the public rites that insure the transition of the dead into the spirit world. A large number of masks participate in Dogon funerary rites and the dama, a celebration at the end of mourning. The masks also appear in the sigui, a celebration held only every 60 years to mark the change in generations.

There are more than 70 different Dogon masks, which can be grouped according to medium, whether fiber or wood; subject, whether animal, human or abstract; and character, whether predatory or nonpredatory. This wood mask is nonpredatory, a rabbit. The rabbit has the role of the trickster in Dogon folklore--is cunning, able to defy the hunter--and possesses magical substances. The mask appears in a pantomime with the hunter mask and in its own rapid dance that is marked by distinctive high stepping and the crossing of one leg diagonally before the other.

Description

Wood face mask representing a hare with flat rectangular face broken by rectangular recesses, containing rectangular cut out eyes. Erect ears on top of head and curved ears on sides of head. Small projection between top ears. Overall traces of red pigment, dark dots, traces of bright blue.

Provenance

Emil J. Arnold, New York, -- to 1968

Exhibition History

African Sculpture, Princeton University Art Museum, February 2-March 14, 1971, no. 5

Published References

Museum of African Art. 1971. African Sculpture at Princeton University from the Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: Museum of African Art, p. 4, no. 5.

Content Statement

As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.

Image Requests

High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/

Credit Line

Gift of Emil Arnold

Mid 20th century

Object number

68-36-222

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Mask

Medium

Wood, pigment, paint

Dimensions

H x W x D: 40.6 x 15.6 x 10.5 cm (16 x 6 1/8 x 4 1/8 in.)

Geography

Mali

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

Funerary

Initiation

rabbit

Male use

male

Record ID

nmafa_68-36-222

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7b378fe0a-d6ed-4d58-a7bb-e906478b1c18