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: --- 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: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 22.9 cm (9 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review: 1972 opening date: 1973-02-27T05:00:00 Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 55, repr.
CMA 1973: "Year in Review 1972," CMA Bulletin LX (March, 1973), p. 107, no. 37 --- PROVENANCE Katherine White Reswick date: footnotes: citations: --- 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 sagbwe or gunyege. 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- 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