Hip Mask

ca. 16th century

"Quick in catching" is a praise name for the leopard and for the chief who wore this mask. An alert leopard's gaze seems present in these glinting brass eyes. Just as the leopard can stalk his prey and attack with swift force, so can the King (Oba) wield decisive aggression. Full scale ivory leopards often stood at each side of the Oba when he sat in state. A mask of this type is worn on the hip of a chief, seen in the plaque in the museum's collection.

Ivory and brass studs

7 x 1 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (17.8 x 4.5 x 3.8 cm)

Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

81.17.494

Provenance: Taken from the royal palace of Benin City during the Benin Expedition of 1897; [Merton D. Simpson Gallery, New York], by 1965; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1965; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Not currently on view

Resources

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. 142 (as Belt Mask in Leopard Form).

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., pp. XI, 132-33, reproduced pls. V (color), 168 (as belt mask).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Praise Poems: The Katherine White Collection, July 29 - Sept. 29, 1984 (Washington, D.C., National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 31, 1984 - Feb. 25, 1985; Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Apr. 6 - May 19, 1985; Fort Worth, Texas, Kimbell Art Museum, Sept. 7 - Nov. 25, 1985; Kansas City, Missouri, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Mar. 8 - Apr. 20, 1986). Text by Pamela McClusky. Cat. no. 28, pp. 64-65, reproduced (as Belt mask in leopard form).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, African Panoplies: Art for Rulers, Traders, Hunters, and Priests, Apr. 21 - Aug. 14, 1988.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Benin Art: Collecting Concerns, Sept. 15, 2021 - ongoing.

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