Face Mask
Unknown Artist
possibly early 1900s
Medium
Wood, metal, leather, and organic materials
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.229}}
Classification
Mask
Department
African Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Katherine C. White
Accession Number
1972.331
About this artwork
A Dan face mask's use and the costume that accompanied it are important elements that contribute to the name it receives. While we don't know those details, we can say it originally had an elaborate fiber hairstyle attached through the holes around the edge. Based on its appearance and other similar examples, this face mask with a high forehead in northern Dan style may have been called either sagbwe or gunyege. As a "runner mask," it was engaged in running competitions once organized every Sund...