Mask Painted Blue Item Number: E18929-0 from the National Museum of Natural History
Notes
FROM CARD: "ILLUS. IN THE FAR NORTH CATALOG, NAT. GALL. OF ART. 1973, P. 239. LOAN R. H. LOWIE MUSEUM 12/31/64. LOAN RETURNED FEB 15 1966."Ilus. Fig. 5 p. 11 in King, J. C. H. 1979. Portrait masks from the Northwest Coast of America. [New York]: Thames and Hudson. Identified there (p. 10) as "Tlingit shaman's mask. The hair, eyebrows and moustache on this mask were made from fur and nailed into place; it has copper eyes and lips. Although the face is extremely realistic, it probably represents a spirit who would have helped the shaman cure the sick and predict events. It was held to the wearer's head with a hide strap."
Item History
- Made in Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska, USA
- Collected by James G. Swan in Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska, USA during 1875
- Received during 1875
What
- Name
- Mask Painted Blue
- Identification Number
- E18929-0
- Type of Item
- mask
Who
- Culture
- Tlingit ?
- Field Collector
- James G. Swan
Where
- Holding Institution
- National Museum of Natural History
- Made in
- Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska, USA
- Collected in
- Sitka, Baranof Island, Alaska, USA
When
- Collection Date
- during 1875
- Acquisition Date
- during 1875
Other
- Accession Number
- 004126