Fiber mask

Object Details

Lwena artist

Label Text

Robert and Ninette Reis, who donated this mask, recall that the Zambian National Dance Troupe, which performed in Zambia, as well as overseas, had a small area in a government building in central Lusaka, where there were reference materials on Zambian dances. One day in 1971 or 1972, Robert Reis went to the library to read about a dance that he had seen performed at a cultural center in Livingston, Zambia. He asked a clerk at the office who made the masks for the troupe, and if this artist ever made masks for sale. The clerk replied in the affirmative and arranged for Robert and Ninette Reise to meet the mask maker. The artist agreed to make a number of masks for them, including this hyena mask.

Description

Fiber mask representing a hyena with large oval body with fiber fringe; animal head with movable lower jaw; red spots painted on black body.

Provenance

Robert C. Reis, Jr., commissioned from the artist, Zambia, 1972 to 1975

Exhibition History

Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C., March 17, 1982-July 10, 1983

Published References

Kreamer, Christine Mullen. 2010. "Impermanent by Design: The Ephemeral in Africa’s Tradition-based Arts." African Arts 23 (1), p. 23, no. 13.

Park, Edwards. 1983. Treasures of the Smithsonian. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, p. 379.

Smithsonian Institution. Office of Folklife Programs and Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art. 1982. Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 27 and 110, no. 122.

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Credit Line

Gift of Robert C. Reis Jr.

Late 20th century

Object number

75-12-1

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Mask

Medium

Cloth, raffia, pigment

Dimensions

H x W x D: 40.4 x 148.3 x 203.1 cm (15 7/8 x 58 3/8 x 79 15/16 in.)

Geography

Zambia

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

National Museum of African Art

Topic

hyena

Male use

male

Record ID

nmafa_75-12-1

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys724103440-0cf6-40c5-bae2-6b40c1d576ff