Dance Mask
date: label: Accession Date
content: 9 Feb 1882
name: label: Donor Name
content: Edward W. Nelson
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "FROM CARD: "ILLUST. IN BAE 18TH AR, PT. 1, PL. CIII-4, 5, P. 414. SMALL MASK WITH TWO LEATHER STRAPS TIED AROUND IT. RED AND WHITE I FEATHER. LOAN: U.S.I.A. INUA JUN 24 1988. INVENTORIED 1977 ILLUS.: INUA CATALOGUE. USIA 1988, PL.16, P.17. LOAN RETURNED DEC 28 1990." USIA Inua catalogue identifies: "Half-moon mask. During the annual Doll's Festival large hoops were placed in the qasgiq. These were raised and lowered to represent the approaching and distancing of the heavens. Masks were frequently surrounded by hoops which carried this same symbolism and were often decorated with feathers representing the stars."
label: Notes
content: Mask on display National Museum of Natural History exhibit "Objects of Wonder", 2017 - 2024. Exhibit label: Ceremonial mask, Yup'ik, Yukon-Kuskokwim region, Alaska, circa 1875; Painted wood, leather strips. Masks take center stage in Yup'ik festivals and celebrations, which reaffirm social connections and solidify relationships between the human, animal, and spirit worlds. The hoops in this half-moon mask were reported to represent the celestial realm of spirits controlling the activities of people and animals.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 4 Nov 2024
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Kuskokwim / Kuskokwim River, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Yup'ik
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 82A00003
label: USNM Number
content: E64243-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mask
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 26 cm