Baleen Whale Mask

Artist:Kwakwaka'wakw

Medium: Cedar wood, hide, cotton cord, nails, pigment

Geograhical Locations:

• Knight's Inlet, British Columbia, Canada

Dates:19th century

Dimensions: 23 5/8 x 28 1/2 x 81 1/8 in. (60 x 72.4 x 206 cm)

Collections:

• Arts of the Americas

Museum Location: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, The Americas’ First Peoples, 4000 B.C.E.–1521 C.E.

Exhibitions:

• Objects of Myth and Memory
• Living Legacies: The Arts of the Americas
• Life, Death, and Transformation in the Americas
• Climate in Crisis: Environmental Change in the Indigenous Americas

Accession Number: 08.491.8901

Image: 08.491.8901_view01_PS11.jpg,

Catalogue Description:
Large wooden whale mask carved from 14 pieces of cedar, including the main body carved from one large piece that has been hollowed out. Movable lower jaw, flippers, and flukes are controlled with cords. Head is painted with a red and blue nose and blue eye sockets. Beneath each eye, is black stripe with white dots. Collar is made up of a blue fin design. The whale's blow hole is in the form of a painted and carved face. The dorsal fin, once detachable, is painted and carved with an animal face in profile. The torso is painted with white and blue stripes, and large white dots, running the length of the body which has a white underside.

Brooklyn Museum