DOGON ARTIST
Monkey Mask, Mali, late 19th–early 20th century
Wood
h. 30.5 cm
12 in.
12 in.
Further images
This wood mask with its bulging forehead and long jaw depicts the black monkey and is considered predatory. Originally it had dark fiber that hung to the wearer's knees. During...
This wood mask with its bulging forehead and long jaw depicts the black monkey and is considered predatory. Originally it had dark fiber that hung to the wearer's knees. During performance, the mask wearer sits to the side and may make obscene gestures. The character's conduct and persona are based on the monkey, which poses a threat to farm crops and exhibits, in appearance and behavior, traits that seem to be a perverted exaggeration of humans, totally lacking the restraint and order of socialized man.
Provenance
Albert F. Gordon, New York, ca. 1970Dr. Gilbert Graham, Long Island, New York, ca. 1982
Collection Mauricio Lasansky, Iowa City, Iowa
Private Collection, New York