Mask

CultureSalampasu

Date1900-1925

MediumWood and pigment

DimensionsOverall: 12 × 7 × 5 1/2 inches (30.48 × 17.78 × 13.97 cm)

Credit LineGift of Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg Jr.

Object number2013.42.17

On View

Not on view

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionMask with square mouth showing pointed teeth, pointed chin, large slit eyes, red vertical stripe down forehead and nose, kaolin in coiffureProvenance

Provenance

Private collection, Germany [1];

Sale, Arts Primitifs: Océanie-Afrique-Amérique du Nord, Ader Picard Tajan, Paris, June 16, 1988, lot 94 [2];

Probably with Pierre Dartevelle (b. 1940), Brussels, Belgium [3];

Probably purchased from Dartevelle by Marc Leo Félix, Brussels, Belgium, stock no. FX 980163, by March 10-May 28, 1998 [4];

Purchased from Félix by Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr., Shawnee Mission and Mission Hills, KS, May 28, 1998-2013;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2013.

NOTES:

[1] According to dealer Marc Leo Félix, in documentation provided at the time of the object's purchase, NAMA curatorial files. The identity of the collection is currently unknown.

[2] According to the African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre database, www.ahdrc.eu, object no. 0039129, this mask went unsold at this sale. The seller is unidentified.

[3] According to Marc Leo Félix, in email correspondence with MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, February 13, 2023, NAMA curatorial files.

[4] Félix's stock number is written on the back of the mask.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.