Talking Man Mask Item Number: 58.181.4 from the Brooklyn Museum
Description
This deeply carved mask is painted with brown, red, green and white. It has painted eyebrows and teeth. The jaw is loose and could be manipulated in a dance performance to indicate a talking mask. This mask is identified as representing an orator, the individual who would recount the histories that were dramatized by Winter Dance performers. The lower jaw, articulated to produce a more lifelike effect, would be moved to imitate the actions of the performer as he spoke. These types of masks were once common among many Northwest Coast tribes and each had their own stories to tell. The deeply carved and exaggerated features of this image are more typical of Heiltsuk that Haida style but the mask could have come from either nation. The otherworldly appearance of the mask would have been attenuated by the flickering light and shadows of the fire lit performance.
Credit Line
Gift of M. C. Eaton
Item History
- Made between 1868 and 1899
What
Who
- Culture
- Haida
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 1868 and 1899
Other
- Location
- Great Hall, 1st Floor
- Classification
- Masks