Hip Mask Pendant
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Aug 1992
label: Collection Date
content: 1959
name: label: Donor Name
content: Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden
notes: label: Notes
content: Provenience undocumented (Benin City, Nigeria, 18th-19th c dates based on chronology for Benin bronzes established by William Fagg and Philip Dark; Aaron Furman Gallery of New York to 6/5/59; Joseph Hirshhorn purchase 6/5/59 to 5/17/66). Identification provided by Hirshhorn Museum (HMSG). Vetted by William Fagg and Philip Dark for HMSG. Exhibited in HMSG's "Benin Art," Dec. 1978 - (?) 1980. Was on loan to National Museum of American History (NMAH,) recalled fall 1998. Exhibited in NMNH "African Voices" 1999 - present. Description: brass hip mask depicts stylized face with bulging eyes, wide nose, thick lips. Scarification across forehead. Wears semi-circular shaped headdress with diamond-shaped openwork in front, studded with 5-petals flowers. Row of flanges along lower jaw with 4 flanges missing. Below the flanges is a row of loops. 2 big loops are in the back of hollow mask, one on top and one on bottom. Stained white in places.
label: Notes
content: SI Archives acc. 86-136, box 2
label: Notes
content: From African Voices exhibit: "This miniature mask representing the king would have been worn on the belt of a high-ranking Benin chief."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 12 Mar 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Benin City, Edo State / Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Edo
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 370312
label: USNM Number
content: E428170-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mask
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 17 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 15 cm
label: Height - Object
content: 6 cm