Face mask

Dateca. 1830

This expressively naturalistic mask of a man's face imparts the feeling of an individual alert and perhaps about to speak. The painting on the wood surface might be family-owned designs that were applied with natural pigments, probably for ceremonial purposes. The visage originally had a mustache and beard of fur or hair that were affixed with pitch. The lack of a labret, or lip plug, also indicates that the mask is of a man. The contours of the carved wood point up the slightly sunken eye region, prominent cheek bones, sensitively modeled nose and bandlike eyebrows and lips. The shape and detail of the ears are less naturalistic than on some of the oldest known masks. The eyeholes let the wearer see out so that he can dance or dramatize a story or event, although the exact use of this mask is unknown.

Object number91.1.39

Provenance[Carlebach Gallery, New York, New York], in 1960; John H. Hauberg, Seattle, Washington, 1960-1991; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Photo CreditPhoto: Susan Cole

Exhibition HistoryVancouver, BC, Vancouver Art Gallery, Down from the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast, June 4, 1998 - May 15, 2000 London, England, Kansas City, Missouri, "Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art", 1976-77Published ReferencesHolm, Bill, Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art, Seattle Art Museum, University of Washington Press, 1983, no. 45, p. 41, illus. Sawyer, Alan, Toward More Precise Northwest Coast Attributions: Two Substyles of Haisla Masks, in Box of Daylight: Northwest Coast Indian Art by Bill Holm, Seattle Art Museum, University of Washington Press, 1983, pp. 143-147 Coe, Ralph T., Sacred Circles: Two Thousand Years of North American Indian Art, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1977, no. 282, p. 139, illus. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Box of Daylight, September 15, 1983 - January 8, 1984.

Credit LineGift of John H. Hauberg

Dimensions9 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 5 in. (23.2 x 19.1 x 12.7 cm)

MediumAlder, paint