Transformation Mask

Transformation Mask

1870
Culture
Kwakwaka'wakw
Object
mask
Medium
wood, string, and paint
Accession Number
1951.228
Credit Line
Native Arts acquisition funds

Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Transformation mask, 1870. Wood, paint, and string; 15 x 12 x 24½ in. Denver Art Museum: Native Arts acquisition fund, 1951.228

Dimensions
height: 15 in, 38.1000 cm; width: 12 in, 30.4800 cm; length: 24 1/2 in, 62.23 cm
Department
Native Arts
Collection
Indigenous Arts of North America
This object is currently on view
This is an excellent example of the transformation mask prevalent in Northwest Coast dances. When presented wide open it reveals a human face, but when the four side pieces are closed it forms the head of an eagle (note the large down-curving beak). A dancer would pull the strings at the appropriate moment to re-enact the story of a clan ancestor transforming from animal to human.
Known Provenance
Fred Harvey Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico, collected about 1900; Mitchell Wilder. Taylor Museum, Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, before 1951; Denver Art Museum, 1951.
Exhibition History
  • "Inventing the Southwest: The Fred Harvey Company and Native American Art," Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, 9/29/1995-5/4/1997
  • "The Nature of Looking: The Spiritual in Art", Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO, September 23, 2000-January 14, 2001
  • “Stampede: Animals in Art” — Denver Art Museum, 9/10/2017

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