id: 144495
accession number: 1969.2
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.2
updated: 2022-06-22 09:01:02.031000
Buffalo Mask, early to mid-1900s. Africa, West Africa, Burkina Faso, possibly Bwa-style maker. Wood, plant fibers, paint, and iron; overall: 69.8 cm (27 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1969.2
title: Buffalo Mask
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: early to mid-1900s
creation date earliest: 1900
creation date latest: 1970
current location: 108A Sub-Saharan
creditline: Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:
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culture: Africa, West Africa, Burkina Faso, possibly Bwa-style maker
technique: Wood, plant fibers, paint, and iron
department: African Art
collection: African Art
type: Mask
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 69.8 cm (27 1/2 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Year in Review: 1969
opening date: 1970-01-27T05:00:00
Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
title: A Cleveland Bestiary
opening date: 1981-10-14T04:00:00
A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14-December 16, 1981).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* CMA 1968: African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection, cat. no. 31, repr.
CMA 1970: "Year in Review 1969," CMA Bulletin LVII (Jan., 1970), p. 47, no. 128, repr. p. 41.
CMA 1981: A Cleveland Bestiary, October 14-December 9, 1981, cat. no. 11, repr. p, 17.
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PROVENANCE
Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
date: ?–1969
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1969–
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
digital description:
Among the Bwa people, masks with human, animal, and fantastic traits typically represent protective bush spirits. This mask’s horns and muzzle identify it as a bush buffalo. Masked dancers appear during the dry season for initiations, funerals of elders, market days, harvest celebrations, and annual renewal rituals to protect the well-being of the community.
wall description:
Among the Bwa people, masks with human, animal, and fantastic traits typically represent protective bush spirits. This mask’s horns and muzzle identify it as a bush buffalo. Masked dancers appear during the dry season for initiations, funerals of elders, market days, harvest celebrations, and annual renewal rituals to protect the well-being of the community.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page number: Reproduced: p. 411
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n431
Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981.
page number: Mentioned: p. 16, p. 60; Reproduced: p. 17
url:
Petridis, Constantijn. South of the Sahara: selected works of African art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.
page number: Reproduced: cat. 5, p. 40 - 41
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.2/1969.2_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.2/1969.2_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.2/1969.2_full.tif