Art
11 Masks That Define World Culture
Four curators select key examples from a medium that is about as old as human history.
Mexico
Olmec Face Mask
Date: 900-400 B.C.
Material: Jadeite
Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
“You first walk by and think, ‘OK, it’s a human face — totally normal,’” says Joanne Pillsbury, 65, a curator of ancient American art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “But there are some distinctly nonhuman things about it. The cleft in the forehead and blue-green color link it with the Olmec Maize God. It most likely would’ve been affixed to an ancestor bundle [similar to an Egyptian mummy]. Made from rare and durable jadeite, it speaks to permanence and this idea of cyclical rebirth.”
Teotihuacan, Mexico
Teotihuacan Mask
Date: A.D. 300-600
Material: Travertine
Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Teotihuacan was the New York City of its time,” says Pillsbury. “There are hundreds of these; they would’ve been part of a sculptural complex, maybe in a nichelike structure. They weren’t portraits; it was about emphasizing a collective. These masks became very popular in the 19th century, and then you start to see quite an amazing array of forgeries.”
Peru
Moche Burial Mask
Date: 525-50
Materials: Copper, gilded copper, shell, violet-colored stone
Collection: Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan, Huanchaco, Peru
“This funerary mask was excavated from [the Moche civilization archaeological site in Peru] Dos Cabezas and covered the face of a young man who was 5-foot-9 — very tall for someone in the ancient Andes,” says Pillsbury. “The Moche were some of the greatest metalworkers of the ancient world and discovered ways to gild copper. The mask is about granting permanence to impermanent flesh.”
Japan
Noh Mask, Sanbaso
Date: 14th century
Materials: Wood with polychromy, animal hair
Collection: Tokyo National Museum
“He has a jovial face, like a granddad,” says Monika Bincsik, a curator of Japanese decorative arts at the Met. “The lower jaw can move separately. There’s an inscription that says the name of the maker: Nikko, who is one of the most legendary carvers. This mask is associated with the sacred Sanbaso dance, played by Kyogen [traditional Japanese comic theater] actors to celebrate the New Year.”
Japan
Hannya Mask
Date: 1650-1750
Materials: Japanese cypress, gilded metal, gofun, ink, pigments, lacquer
Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
In Noh theater troupes, “masks [like this one] were transferred from father to son,” says Bincsik (typically, only men perform Noh). “There are approximately 250 types of Noh masks. One of its best-known roles is as the spirit of Lady Rokujo, who is jealous of her lover — the slightest movement of the head changes the expression in the candlelight.”
Torres Strait Islands
Torres Strait Islander Mask
Date: 19th century
Materials: Turtle shell, cassowary feather, seed pod, fiber, cowrie shell, red pigment
Collection: British Museum, London
“The Torres Strait Islanders are the only ones who use turtle shell to make masks,” says Maia Nuku, 55, a curator of Oceanic art at the Met. “At the front, you see the form of the bonito fish — the mask is used in ceremonies before harvest or hunting seasons to encourage the abundance of the crop and successful fishing. The rest of the body [resembles] a shark. The shells and hollow seedpods make a great noise; watching a dancer perform with this mask is a real sensory experience.”
Ivory Coast
Dan Mask
Date: 19th-20th century
Materials: Wood, hair, fiber, clay
Collection: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
“Most of these masks are used in rites of passage,” says Ndubuisi Ezeluomba, 53, a curator of African art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. “The Dan people of Liberia [and the Ivory Coast] undergo a ritual that launches them into adulthood. As part of it, there’s a period of isolation during which you are secluded in a camp. These masks help surveil you to make sure you don’t leave.”
Nigeria
Headdress (Ago Egungun)
Date: 1850-99
Materials: Wood, pigment
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
“The Egungun is a Yoruba masquerade to honor the ancestors and invite them into the community,” says Ezeluomba. “There are a lot of attachments, and a costume [for the rest of the body]. I use football as an example: The footballer doesn’t go out just with the helmet. You need the full costume. Many institutions don’t have the costumes that go with the masks in the collection,” because they were made of delicate materials and rarely preserved by their makers.
Republic of Guinea
Nimba Mask
Date: Late 19th-early 20th century
Material: Wood
Collection: Dallas Museum of Art
“Among the Baga people in Guinea, this mask of the Nimba figure celebrates women and fertility,” says Ezeluomba. “It has a connection to agriculture and plenty, too. The Nimba is characterized by a projected nose and elegant ears. There are cloth and raffia accouterments that go over the wearer’s head during a performance or wedding.”
Papua New Guinea
Sulka Mask for Double Wearer
Date: Early 20th century
Materials: Plant pith, plant fibers, natural pigments
Collection: Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
“This is for two wearers; the cone-shaped pieces are where the heads go,” says Nuku. “It’s used [in ceremonies] to manifest abundance and a good harvest. This one has praying mantis iconography; the praying mantis was revered in Pacific cultures. These [kinds of masks] can take months to make but are often used just once.”
Indonesia
Asmat Body Mask
Date: Mid-20th century
Materials: Mulberry fiber, rattan, sago palm leaves, wood, bamboo, cassowary bone, feathers, coix seeds, pigment
Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art
“This was collected by Michael Rockefeller when he was traveling through this region in 1961,” says Nuku. “It’s amazing that we know the name of the village [where it was made, Pupis, in Papua Province], when it was used and who collected it. This mask [would be used] in ceremonies where they invite the souls of the recently deceased into the community and dance and sing. The next day, [the ancestors] are entertained, happy and fed, and head off into the ancestral realm.”
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
