Mask
date: label: Accession Date
content: 28 Nov 1995
label: Collection Date
content: Late 1960's
name: label: Collector
content: Dr. Melvin E. Page
label: Donor Name
content: Dr. Melvin E. Page
notes: label: Notes
content: CARVED MASK REPRESENTING LIFE-SIZE MAN'S FACE PAINTED RED. GREEN AND BROWN PLANT FIBERS ARE GLUED TO WOOL BACKING TO REPRESENT HAIR. THIS IS SEWN TO BACK OF HEAD. MASK'S EYES ARE RIMMED W/ EYELASHES MADE OF FEATHERS. EYES ARE MADE OF WHITE PAPER W/ HOLES CUT OUT TO REPRESENT PUPILS, THEN COVERED W/ CELLOPHANE. ALUMINUM FOIL IS CUT TO LOOK LIKE TEETH, THEN IS GLUED OVER SMILING MOUTH. FACE HAS MUSTACHE AND GOATEE MADE OF BLACK ANIMAL HAIR. CONDITIONS: VISIBLE CRACKS ON PL EAR AND PR LOWER CORNER OF MOUTH. ACCORDING TO DR. MARY JO ARNOLDI, CURATOR OF AFRICAN ETHNOLOGY, MASK'S RED COLOR REPRESENTS EUROPEAN. FACIAL HAIR IS STEREOTYPE OF EUROPEAN. ACCORDING TO DR. MELVIN PAGE, HISTORIAN, WHO COLLECTED THE MASK, OBJECT DEPICTS A POLITICAL CARICATURE OF BWANA DISI, A COLONIAL DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, AND WAS USED BY NYAU MEN'S SOCIETY FOR MASQUERADE PERFORMANCE.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 28 Nov 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Malawi, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Chewa
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 409934
label: USNM Number
content: E427917-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Mask
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 29 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 25 cm
label: Height - Object
content: 37 cm