Mask with Humanoid Face

ca. 1880

Masks with human features represent ancestors, warriors and supernatural beings that transform into humans.

When used at funeral ceremonies they depict the departed spirit being ushered into the next world, highlighting the boundaries between past and present; natural and supernatural realms.

Alder, red cedar bark, cotton cloth, paint

14 1/2 x 8 3/4 x 6 in. (36.83 x 22.23 x 15.24 cm)

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.35

Provenance: Micheal R. Johnson, Seattle, Washington, until 1971; John H. Hauberg, Seattle, Washington, 1971-1991; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Published ReferencesThe Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle Art Museum, 1995, p. 188

Robbins, Richard et al., Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach, Toronto: Nelson Education, 2014, p.220

Robbins, Richard et al., Sociocultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach, Toronto: Nelson Education, 2017, p. 242

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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