Masks Artifacts

A mask is only half a costume; the rest danced away long ago. African and Asian masks for dance, initiation and ceremony gathered here come from the Lega, Dogon, Chokwe, Senufo and Baga, and from Nepal, India, Japan and Borneo. Lega masks belonged to the Bwami society, where small masks of wood and ivory marked a member’s rank. Dogon masks include the tall sirige, the crocodile and the black monkey, danced at the dama ceremonies that close a period of mourning.

There are Chokwe pwo masks of the ideal woman, a Senufo kpeliye, a Bambara Kore society hyena, a Baga nimba shoulder mask, a Mende bundu helmet, a Bidjogo bull helmet and Lega, Loma and Mangbetu passport masks. From Asia come a Nepalese shaman’s mask, a Madhesi monkey mask, a Mahishasura mask for Dussehra and a Japanese theater mask. Mount a mask on a stand at eye level or hang several on a plain wall. They were made to be seen moving; stillness is a fair compromise.