Serpent mask
Slithering down from the sky, a serpent mask with a body completely covered by dark raffia made a dramatic entrance. By twisting its head from side to side rapidly, the serpent would seem to ripple in the air. Serpent masks were most often called upon to thank spirits and ancestors for enabling bountiful harvests.
Wood, fiber, hair, pigment
151 9/16 x 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (385 x 21 x 26 cm)
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.86
Provenance: [Alexander-Suggs Gallery, Inc., Clayton, Missouri]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1975; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981