Mask
- Artist Culture
- Yup'ik artist
- Date
- c.1875
- Material
- Wood, pigment, and feathers
- Classification
- Masks, wood
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- including feathers: 16 1/4 x 17 1/2 in. (41.3 x 44.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 198:1980
NOTES
The elegant simplicity and daring asymmetry of this ovoid mask are characteristic of masks from the Inuit settlement of St. Michel on the south side of Norton Sound in western Alaska. The Yup’ik developed a reciprocal relationship with the animals they hunted: the animals allowed some of their numbers to be hunted as long as humans respected the spirits of the creatures they killed. Although this mask was worn at the winter dances when it was included in the entertainments for the human community, its primary function was to engage and please the spirits of game animals.
Provenance
- 1931
Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, UK [1]
1931 -
Harry G. Beasley, England, UK, purchased from the Blackmore Museum [2]
- 1980
Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton), Dallas, TX, USA
1980 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton) [3]
Notes:
[1] Page titled "Blackmore Museum" from ledger for February 1, 1931. Beasley Archives, Centre for Anthropology, British Museum, London, UK [copy in Doc File].
[2]See [1]; label on verso.
[3] Invoice from Shango Galleries dated May 6, 1980 [SLAM document files]; Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 6, 1980.
Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, UK [1]
1931 -
Harry G. Beasley, England, UK, purchased from the Blackmore Museum [2]
- 1980
Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton), Dallas, TX, USA
1980 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Shango Galleries (John A. Buxton) [3]
Notes:
[1] Page titled "Blackmore Museum" from ledger for February 1, 1931. Beasley Archives, Centre for Anthropology, British Museum, London, UK [copy in Doc File].
[2]See [1]; label on verso.
[3] Invoice from Shango Galleries dated May 6, 1980 [SLAM document files]; Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, June 6, 1980.