Mask for Atut (Night Fire) Dance

Date20th century

Label TextTinged with soot around the edges, this face once was used in a smoky dance performance. Only at night, a complex of masks emerge to purge negative elements by parading and spinning around a bonfire. Several dozen forms of Melanesian masks exist, and Baining people reveal only hints of what inspires the bold features of the masks. Some are said to be tree/leaf spirits and others the shoulder bone or vertebrae of a pig.

Object number81.17.1439

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Untold Story, Nov. 14, 2003 - Nov. 14, 2004. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Species, Dec. 12, 2022 - ongoing.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

MediumMulberry and breadfruit tree bark, bamboo, and pigment