Object Details
- Label Text
- The kipoko mask's performance brings together all members of a community--those past, those living, those yet to be born. It recalls the roles and duties of everyone but particularly relates to the all-knowing, all-nurturing ideal chief.
- Description
- Wood helmet mask with a perpendicular semi-circular extension from the chin, a projecting stem like nose with shallow nostrils on the end, a knob projecting from the top of the head, projecting ears, heavy black brows, slanted white eyes and red, black and white paint.
- Exhibition History
- For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
- Published References
- Gillon, Werner. 1979. Collecting African Art. New York: Rizzzoli; London: Studio Vista, p.113, no. 139
- Pemberton III, John. 2000. Insight and Artistry in African Divination. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Strother, Z.S. 1993. "Eastern Pende Constructions of Secrecy." Secrecy: African Art That Conceals and Reveals by Mary H. Nooter. New York: The Museum for African Art; Munich: Prestel, p. 168, no. 14.
- Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 229-230, no. 141.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Pende artist
- Date
- 19th-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
- Medium
- Wood, paint
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 26 x 30.7 x 36.5 cm (10 1/4 x 12 1/16 x 14 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Mask
