Mask

Datelate 19th-early 20th century

Label TextTwo examples of this rare type of Kru mask were kept on hand in Picasso's studio. He credited them with helping to define his approach to sculpting a cardboard guitar in 1912. As Kru artists made features out of building blocks, so he made a guitar's sound hole out of a projecting cylinder. Many inspired collage constructions were to follow.

Object number81.17.192

Provenance[Gallery K, Los Angeles, California]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1977; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Center for African Art, Africa Explores New and Renewed Forms in 20th Century African Art, May 16 - Aug. 11, 1991 (Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Art, Feb. 9 - Apr. 5, 1992; St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis Art Museum, May 15 - July 5, 1992; Charlotte, North Carolina, Mint Museum of Art, Aug. 8 - Oct. 11, 1992; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie Museum of Art, Nov. 7, 1992 - Jan. 10, 1993, Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, Feb. 6 - Apr. 4, 1993). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Documents International: Eleven Heads Are Better than One: Sixth Graders Connect with SAM, Apr. 1, 1999 - Apr. 2, 2000.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions17 7/8 x 9 1/4 x 6 5/16 in. (45.4 x 23.5 x 16 cm)

MediumWood, pigment, fiber, nails, twine