The paint is red and black.

The paint is red and black.

This painted face mask may be used in the Gyidakhanis dance. The eyesockets are painted green, and there is formline painting on the cheeks and forehead. The eyebrows, eyes, and mustache are black and nostrils and lips red. Part of the background is painted white. The lips are rounded and slightly open, suggesting an animation in keeping with the movements of the dance. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The paint is black and red.

To residents of the Northwest Coast, and particularly those in the habit of travelling the waterways of the area in small boats, no native creature is more impressive than the killer whale. It is small wonder that native mythology and art are full of references to him. This killer whale back mask has the ability of transforming itself from a single- to a double-finned creature by the manipulation of strings located inside the mask. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This mask was one of a set of six purchased by Sidney Gerber from its native owner in Blunden Harbor, B. C. It has been repainted white over an older painting and has black eyes, eyebrows, and mustache, with traces of red around the nostrils. Masks were often repainted, either to brighten them up after use had dulled the colors or to change the character of the mask, as appears to be the case here. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

The paint is green, red, black, and white.

The paint is black and white.

The paint is red.

Forehead masks of this type leave the dancer's face exposed. Sometimes during the dance the blanket is raised with the forearms to cover the face, allowing the mask to peer over the blanket and heightening the illusion of a bird or animal. This mask is carved of red cedar and is very light in weight. The painting is in the usual colors--black eyebrows, eye detail, and beak; red lips, nostrils, and cheek detail; green eyesockets; and white in various lines and negative areas. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)