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Elephant mask for Dye ensemble
Elephant mask for Dye ensemble

Elephant mask for Dye ensemble

Maker Guro
Label TextWomen and children are asked to leave before this type of mask emerges from the sacred forest. Despite being covered by heavy raffia suits, the masker enacts impressive leaps to convey a vision of unleashed energy drawn from the wilderness. In the early twentieth century, this ensemble had great influence over decision making, more recently, they continue to perform at funerals as a way of proclaiming allegiance to certain families.
Object number81.17.252
Provenance[Galerie Le Corneur Roudillon, Paris, France]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1961; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981
Exhibition HistoryCleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Museum of Art, African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection, July 10 - Sept. 1, 1968 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Oct. 10 - Dec. 1, 1968). Text by William Fagg. Cat. no. 72. Los Angeles, California, Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, University of California, African Art in Motion: Icon and Act, Jan. 20 - Mar. 17, 1974 (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, May 5 - Sept. 22, 1974). Text by Robert Farris Thompson. No cat. no., p. 148, reproduced fig. K-5 (as elephant mask). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Selections From The Katherine White Collection, March 12-August, 1987
Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
Dimensions7 1/2 x 11 7/8 in. (19 x 30.2 cm) L.: 26 3/4 in.
MediumWood with pigment
Gu mask
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.253
Zamble mask
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.254
Face mask (Kpelie-yehe)
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.259
Female spirit mask (kpan)
Ivorian
Object number: 51.14
Mask (Kwonro)
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.260
Funeral Head mask (Kponungo)
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.261
Face mask (Kpeli-yehe)
Ivorian
Object number: 81.17.262
Funeral Head mask (Kponungo)
Ivorian
Object number: 51.13
Crest Mask (Zamble)
Ivorian
Object number: 51.48