An adorned wood face mask from the We (Wee) people of West Africa, dated to the 20th century is in the permanent African collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (as acquisition number 1989.373) and on display in the Eiteljorg Suite of African and Oceanic Art.[1]
Designed to resemble a snarling leopard, this wooden mask is heavily adorned with a variety of materials to include pigment, shells, cloth, fiber, fur, paper, metal, feathers, and quills. This mask is denoted as male by the cartridge shells along the top and the wood carved leopard's teeth placed along the sides and bottom.[1]
We peopleedit
The We, sometimes called the Krahn or Guere, are an indigenous African people that inhabit areas in eastern Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire.[2] In this region, masks such as this one typically start as simple, unadorned objects carved by a male artist. The mask is then handed down through generations with each new wearer adding adornments. According to the We, as each generation adds to the mask, it grows in ritual significance and power. The individual honored with wearing the mask traditionally wears an oversized skirt made of raffia fronds and may carry a ceremonial staff.[1]
We masks similar to this one are often designed to appear ferocious and are intended for use in mediations between community members, as visual aids during moral lessons, and as forms of entertainment. By portraying the more frightening nature of the animal, the mask is viewed as powerful and may have been used as part of social control methods prior to the introduction of Western law systems during the colonial period.[3]
Acquisitionedit
A detailed history of this mask is unknown. The work has however been dated to approximately 1900-50 and the acquisition credit line is attributed to a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Eiteljorg.[1]
face, mask, people, adorned, wood, face, mask, from, people, west, africa, dated, 20th, century, permanent, african, collection, indianapolis, museum, acquisition, number, 1989, display, eiteljorg, suite, african, oceanic, face, maskartistunknown, artistyear20. An adorned wood face mask from the We Wee people of West Africa dated to the 20th century is in the permanent African collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art as acquisition number 1989 373 and on display in the Eiteljorg Suite of African and Oceanic Art 1 Face maskArtistUnknown We artistYear20th centuryTypeWood pigment shells cloth fiber fur paper metal feathers quillsDimensions19 13 5 11 5 in 48 3 34 3 29 2 cm LocationIndianapolis Museum of Art Indianapolis Contents 1 Description 1 1 We people 2 Acquisition 3 ReferencesDescription editDesigned to resemble a snarling leopard this wooden mask is heavily adorned with a variety of materials to include pigment shells cloth fiber fur paper metal feathers and quills This mask is denoted as male by the cartridge shells along the top and the wood carved leopard s teeth placed along the sides and bottom 1 We people edit The We sometimes called the Krahn or Guere are an indigenous African people that inhabit areas in eastern Liberia and western Cote d Ivoire 2 In this region masks such as this one typically start as simple unadorned objects carved by a male artist The mask is then handed down through generations with each new wearer adding adornments According to the We as each generation adds to the mask it grows in ritual significance and power The individual honored with wearing the mask traditionally wears an oversized skirt made of raffia fronds and may carry a ceremonial staff 1 We masks similar to this one are often designed to appear ferocious and are intended for use in mediations between community members as visual aids during moral lessons and as forms of entertainment By portraying the more frightening nature of the animal the mask is viewed as powerful and may have been used as part of social control methods prior to the introduction of Western law systems during the colonial period 3 Acquisition editA detailed history of this mask is unknown The work has however been dated to approximately 1900 50 and the acquisition credit line is attributed to a gift from Mr and Mrs Harrison Eiteljorg 1 References edit a b c d The Indianapolis Museum of Art 2012 Face Mask retrieved 11 May 2012 Library of Congress 2004 We Cote d Ivoire and Liberian people retrieved 16 May 2012 Michael C Carlos Museum of Emory University n d Bush Cow Mask retrieved 16 May 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Face mask We people amp oldid 1182550728, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
