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: --- 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: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 94 cm (37 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- 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. --- PROVENANCE Julius Carlebach, New York date: footnotes: citations: Julius Carlebach, New York; Katherine White Reswick date: footnotes: citations: --- 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES