MASK

Object/Artifact

St. Joseph Museums

Name/Title

MASK

Entry/Object ID

143/5864

Description

COPPER, MOTHER OF PEARL EYES & TEETH/WISPS OF HAIR/RAWHIDE PADDING

Use

CEREMONIAL/POTLATCH

Collection

NATIVE AMERICAN

Made/Created

Place

Continent

North America

Notes

19TH CENTURY

Ethnography

Cultural Region

State/Province

Alaska

Culture/Tribe

Tlingit

Native American, First Nation

Lexicon

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

MASK

Dimensions

Height

5-1/2 in

Width

7-1/2 in

Length

11-1/2 in

Parts

Count

Material

COPPER, RAWHIDE, HAIR, MOTHER OF PEARL

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Maintenance

Maintenance History

Date

Dec 12, 1994

Research Notes

Research Type

Researcher

Person

NELSON ATKINS MUSEUM

Date

1973

Notes

THIS SEA BEAR MASK OF HAMMERED COPPER IS PROBABLY A POTLATCH MASK. THE COPPER IS TREATED LIKE THE WOOD OF MOST NW COAST MASKS, EXCEPT THAT FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE MORE GENERALIZED. IT HAS A STARTLINGLY FEROCIOUS ASPECT DESPITE ITS SMILE. THE CREST IS HAIDA, ALTHOUGH A SIMILAR MASK, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF PRIMITIVE ART, NY CITY, BY THE SAME ARTIST BUT WITH BETTER PRESERVED FUR ABOVE AND BETWEEN THE EARS, WAS FOUND IN THE TLINGIT AREA.