id:			146930
accession number:	1972.331
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.331
updated:		2022-02-18 10:01:52.197000

Face Mask, possibly early 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire or Liberia, Dan-style maker. Wood, metal, leather, and organic materials; overall: 22.9 cm (9 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1972.331

title:				Face Mask
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			possibly early 1900s
creation date earliest:		1900
creation date latest:		1925
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire or Liberia, Dan-style maker
technique:	Wood, metal, leather, and organic materials
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Mask
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 22.9 cm (9 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1972
	opening date:   1973-02-27T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1972</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 55, repr.<br>CMA 1973: "Year in Review 1972," CMA Bulletin LX (March, 1973), p. 107, no. 37

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PROVENANCE

	Katherine White Reswick
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
A Dan face mask's use and the costume that accompanied it are important elements that contribute to the name it receives. While we don't know those details, we can say it originally had an elaborate fiber hairstyle attached through the holes around the edge. Based on its appearance and other similar examples, this face mask with a high forehead in northern Dan style may have been called either <em>sagbwe</em> or <em>gunyege</em>. As a "runner mask," it was engaged in running competitions once organized every Sunday during the dry season. As a "fire-watcher," its main task was to protect the village from fire when the dangerous desert wind called Harmattan blew during the dry season.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.331/1972.331_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.331/1972.331_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1972.331/1972.331_full.tif