id: 146101
accession number: 1971.289
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.289
updated: 2022-01-04 16:44:12.012000
Mask (Kanaga), c. 1930s. Africa, West Africa, Mali, Dogon peoples. Wood, paint, leather, human hair, plant fiber, and metal; overall: 94 cm (37 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1971.289
title: Mask (Kanaga)
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1930s
creation date earliest: 1930
creation date latest: 1939
current location:
creditline: Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:
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culture: Africa, West Africa, Mali, Dogon peoples
technique: Wood, paint, leather, human hair, plant fiber, and metal
department: African Art
collection: African Art
type: Mask
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 94 cm (37 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 1, repr.
CMA 1973: "Year in Review 1972," CMA Bulletin LX (March, 1973), p. 106, no. 32.
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PROVENANCE
Julius Carlebach, New York
date:
footnotes:
citations:
Julius Carlebach, New York; Katherine White Reswick
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citations:
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fun fact:
Performing the kanaga mask takes a lot of physical strength, so teenagers or young men typically dance it.
digital description:
wall description:
The kanaga, characterized by its double-barred superstructure, has been interpreted variously as representing a bird, a crocodile, Amma (the creator god), or the cosmic realms of sky and earth. Kanaga maskers perform as part of dama rites, whose goal is to escort the soul of a deceased on its journey to the spiritual realm. The masks are spectacular in motion—dramatic dips and whirls in which the dancer touches the top of the mask to the ground with each rapid revolution.
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CITATIONS
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