Mask

Item number E 1885.66.7 from the MAA: University of Cambridge.

Public

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Description

Large human mask painted and with leather and copper applique. The eyes rotate and have black eyeballs on one side, and red with copper bands on the other. The pieces of copper sheet are applied in patterns composed of lines, diamonds and eye-shaped sections. The lips and eyebrows are also made from shaped copper, the teeth are painted white and made from wood. The hide arranged in strips down the cheeks, across the upper lip and under the chin could once have had hair, giving the mask a beard. The reverse of the mask has a crossbar for the wearer to grip in their teeth, there are several leather thongs, and a lever attached to leather lines to operate the rolling eyes.; Good

Context

Exhibited: On display in the case celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the Museum, from 2008, near the lift with the following label, 'This outstanding mask with rotating eyes and copper applique is an example of the rich and diverse collections acquired by Cambridge scholars wroking in a variety of disciplines. James Hepburn donated his large ornithological collections from the Pacific coast of North American to the Cambridge Zoology Museum. An associated collection of Northwest Coast artefacts deposited with the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, became part of the Museum's founding collections. Tsimshian, Northwest Coast of Canada. Collected in 1862 by James Hepburn'