COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MIA_.95.1
AMICA Library Year:
1999
Object Type:
Sculpture
Creator Nationality:
African; North African; Sahelese; Mali; Dogon
Creator Role:
sculptor
Creator Name-CRT:
Dogon
Title:
Mask with Female Figure Holding a Vessel
View:
Front
Creation Date:
19th century
Creation Start Date:
1800
Creation End Date:
1899
Materials and Techniques:
wood
Classification Term:
wood
Dimensions:
H.37-1/2 x W.7-1/2 x D.14-1/4 in.
Component Measured:
overall
Measurement Unit:
in
AMICA Contributor:
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Owner Location:
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ID Number:
95.1
Credit Line:
The Putnam Dana McMillan Fund
Context:
Dogon masks combine layers of social and religious meaning with simplifed and balanced form. The headpiece of this mask represents an antelope in highly stylized form, with the addition of the beak of a bird, dobu, which has an unusual habit of flinging dirt when it scratches the ground for food. The female figure above refers to an older woman of the village who supplies food and drink to men's secret masking societies. Her calabash would contain grain, and like the bird imagery is a reference to nourishment. In performances the dancer wearing a Satimbe mask moves decorously, in honor of the older woman, but also imitates the scratching of the dobu bird.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MIA_.4680c.tif
Link To Source
