Mask

Former TitleMask of the Bewitched

CulturePende

Dateearly 20th century

MediumWood, chalk, kaolin, and carbon

DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 × 6 3/4 inches (24.13 × 17.15 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2006.25

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

African Art

Terms

DescriptionThis face mask is black and white, generally ovoid in shape, with heavy-lidded eyes that are semicircular slits appearing half-opened, but allowing the masker to see. The eyebrows are strong and form a continuous line of two high arches over eyes that are cut into the face. The arches of the brows meet at the vertical nose ridge and loop over, like scalloped forms, to cover them to their outward edge. The proper left half of the face is colored black by carbon, and its proper right by white kaolin (clay). The nose is slender and curves very slightly to the left of the face. There appears to be a raised keloid scarification slightly below the temple on either cheek, like a horizontal tab with crossed and incised marks, giving a raised texture to the surface. The are no ears. The mouth is open and is another ovoid that is pointed at either end and twisted perpendicularly to the chin. The angular shape of the black side of the face with its ridged and rising cheek indicates muscular tone and thus aliveness. The rounded and sloping down to the proper left of the black side of the face indicates that it is flaccid and fallen. Its right jaw appears to hang weighty and loose, pushing against its left jaw as it drops and unhinges the jaw bones, which opens and forces the mouth into its unnatural position. The mask is framed by holes around its perimeter that indicate the complete masquerade was attached on all side of the sculpture.Provenance

Provenance

Private collection, Belgium, 1960s [1];

Margaret Herz Demant (1926-2018), Detroit, Michigan, probably by January 4, 2001 [2];

By exchange from Demant by the dealer Reynold Kerr, New York [3];

Unknown private collection, by February 2006 [4];

Purchased from the unknown private collector, through The Edo Group, LLC, Norfolk, VA, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2006.

NOTES:

[1] According to Ramona Austin, The Edo Group, LLC, in an email to Marc Wilson, Director, May 5, 2006, NAMA curatorial files, this mask was in a Belgian collection in the 1960s prior to its acquisition by Margaret Herz Demant.

[2] This mask was on loan to the Detroit Institute of Arts “from a significant patron,” according to Michael Kan, Curator, African, Oceanic & New World Cultures, Detroit Institute of Arts, in a letter to Prof. François Neyt, January 4, 2001, copy in NAMA curatorial files. This lender was most likely Demant, a prominent Detroit collector and patron of the DIA, who certainly owned the mask in the early 2000s.

[3] According to Nii Quarcoopome, Curator of African Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, in email correspondence with MacKenzie Mallon, Specialist, Provenance, 2021-2022, NAMA curatorial files.

[4] According to Ramona Austin (see note 1), the mask passed to a collecting family who wished to remain anonymous, and from whom the Nelson-Atkins acquired it through Edo Group.

Published References

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 250, (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.