Cap Mask

CultureEket

Dateearly 20th century

MediumWood, fiber, cloth, and pigment

DimensionsOverall: 23 × 6 3/4 × 6 1/2 inches (58.42 × 17.15 × 16.51 cm)
Mount: 29 × 9 × 11 inches (73.66 × 22.86 × 27.94 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: the Esther Clark Garnett Fund

Object numberF97-23

On View

Not on view

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionThe sculpture represents a standing male figure with an oversized head, pronounced forehead and brow ridge. The corpulent body displays pronounced nipples and an enlarged abdomen and rests upon flexed legs and enlarged feet. The figure is brown in color and evidence of white clay is located in recesses of the figure's head and body. The wooden base of the figure is attached to a basketry support which is covered with the remnants of old textile.Provenance

Provenance

With René Rasmussen (1912-1979), Paris, by 1966;

Purchased from Rasmussen by Roland de Montaigu (b. 1925-ca. 1995), Paris and New York, NY, 1965 or 1966-at the latest 1995 [1];

By inheritance to his wife, Gunilla de Montaigu, by 1995;

Purchased from Gunilla de Montaigu by Michael Oliver, New York, NY, 1995-July 1997 [2];

Purchased from Michael Oliver by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1997.

NOTES:

[1] According to Michael Oliver, in documentation provided at the time of the object’s purchase, NAMA curatorial files.

[2] According to Michael Oliver, in email correspondence with MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, September 30, 2021, NAMA curatorial files.

Published References

Newsletter (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Winter 1998), cover, 2, (repro.).

Joyce M. Youmans, “African Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,” African Arts 33, no. 4 (Winter 2000), 49, 57, (repro.).

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.