Object Details
- Label Text
- Human and animal characteristics are brought together in this unusual and fairly rare face mask from the Bembe region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Masks of this type may include birdlike characteristics and/or carved antelope or buffalo horns. The horns on this example are broken, making any such identification impossible. Although its function is uncertain, the mask may have been used in circumcision rites or within the titled association known as Bwami.
- Masks somewhat similar in style are also found among the neighboring Nyindu.
- Description
- Wood face mask with broken horns projecting from the forehead, circular eyesockets and semicircular slit eyes. Incised linear marks divide the forehead, circle the eyes and flank the mouth. The mask has an overall dark color.
- Exhibition History
- The Walt Disney-Tishman African Art Collection Highlights, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 21, 2009-June 4, 2014
- For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981
- Published References
- Vogel, Susan (ed). 1981. For Spirits and Kings: African Art from the Paul and Ruth Tishman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 234, no. 145.
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Bembe artist
- Date
- Mid 19th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company
- Medium
- Wood, resin pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 22.2 x 16.2 x 7.9 cm (8 3/4 x 6 3/8 x 3 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Mask
