Cabinet V: Shelf 2
African Miniature Masks
The English word “mask” suggests an object that is placed in front of the face, obscuring it and transforming the wearer in some way, but not all masks transform the wearer in African masking traditions. In the case of the Bembe masks called alungaand emangungu the idea of transformation is apt: the alunga mask, associated with the Alunga association of initiated men, was thought to embody forest spirits, and emangungu masks were used in the initiation rites of young men, who would wear them when they ventured out, heavily disguised, to solicit offerings of food in nearby villages during a year-long period of seclusion in the bush. But in other masking traditions, including those that produced the miniature masks seen here, the (often male) wearer was not necessarily transformed into something or someone else. While many African masks are worn in front of the face or on top of the head and are intended to cover the wearer’s face, the small masks prevalent among the Lega and neighboring peoples are either attached to the arms or the side of the head, or not worn at all, but instead stacked in piles, hung on fences, displayed on the ground and specially constructed racks, or handled by performers.
Ogoni
Mask
wood and metal
14 15/16 in x 5 15/16 in x 3 9/16 in (38 cm x 15 cm x 9 cm)
Gift of Margaret H. and Albert J. Coudron
Songye
Miniature Mask
wood with white and black pigments and raffia
10 5/8 in x 4 3/16 in x 5 1/8 in (27 cm x 10.6 cm x 13 cm);11 13/16 in x 3 9/16 in x 2 15/16 in (30 cm x 9 cm x 7.5 cm)
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis
Pende
Mask
wood, pigments, vegetable fiber, raffia
15 3/8 in x 8 1/4 in x 8 1/4 in (39.05 cm x 20.96 cm x 20.96 cm);15 3/8 in x 8 1/4 in x 8 1/4 in (39.05 cm x 20.96 cm x 20.96 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
Makonde
Helmet;Mask
wood, horse hair, human hair
8 11/16 in x 10 5/8 in x 7 1/16 in (22 cm x 27 cm x 18 cm)
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Horace M. Miner
Bembe
Mask
wood and pigment
12 5/8 in x 5 15/16 in x 2 in (32 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
Bembe
Mask
wood, porcupine quills, pigment, and raffia
14 in x 5 15/16 in x 2 in (35.5 cm x 15 cm x 5 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
Bamum
Maskette
bronze
6 7/8 in x 4 5/16 in x 2 1/16 in (17.5 cm x 10.9 cm x 5.3 cm)
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Horace M. Miner
Bamana
N'tomo Society Initiation Mask
wood with black incrustation
15 3/16 in x 5 3/16 in x 8 in (38.5 cm x 13.1 cm x 20.4 cm)
Museum purchase assisted by the Friends of the Museum of Art
Mask
wood, human hair and pigment
12 1/4 in x 9 13/16 in x 4 5/16 in (31.2 cm x 25 cm x 11 cm)
Gift of Dr. James and Vivian Curtis