Mask (Hemba)

Label TextTwo knobs on the top of this head represent baskets used to collect food. Leaders who watched over initiation camps would wear it to enact ritual teaching and protect boys during this hazardous period of their lives. Forbidden foods, proper contact with women and ways to avoid community discord were among the topics masqueraders were enlisted to impart.

Object number81.17.909

ProvenanceCollection of Marc Leo Felix, Brussles, Belgium; sold to Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1977; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981

Exhibition HistorySeattle, 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. 40, pp. 88-89, reproduced.

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions19 x 15 1/2 x 19 13/16 in. (48.2 x 39.4 x 50.3 cm)

MediumWood, pigment, raffia