Mask, Ritual
Name/Title
Mask, RitualEntry/Object ID
2018.3.136Description
Property C27: Small Pox Mask. Object: ceremonial mask, Artist/Maker: unknown (20th Century, Iroquois/Cayugo), Title/Model: Small Pox Mask, Date/Region: ca. 1980 / Northeastern, Medium/Technique: painted wood and woven and unwoven corn husk / handmade, Edition/Series: unique, 1 of 1, Size: 24" H x 14" W x 5" D, Condition: good, Signature/Inscriptions: n/a, Exhibitions/Literature: Native American Art from the Collection of Jim and Carol Getty: Exhibition at Campanella Gallery of Park University, March 13-April 18, 2000. Description/Notes: A wood mask has an applied "L" shaped black nose and a large round disk applied as a mouth. The eyes are carved away leaving holes. The base of the mask is painted white and is decorated with red dots leaving the eye holes, nose, and the area around the mouth black. Corn husk hair, twice the length of the mask is bushier on the stop than the trailing hair. The subject has a child-like painting technique and has better color than comparable properties. In the 1630s, measles and smallpox moved into Iroquois territory. It hit children and older adults the hardest, and the false face society has a more prominent role. This is considered a 'false face' mask and this subject is rarer than others. An attached tag reads: $600, Cayugo/Iroquois, small -pox measles mask".Collection
NATIVE AMERICANMade/Created
Date made
1980Ethnography
Cultural Region
Country
CanadaState/Province
New YorkCulture/Tribe
Iroquois
Native American, First Nation