Imitation of a Baule Face Mask

Artist Unidentified

20th century

Medium/TechniqueCarved wood, iron peg, fiber

DimensionsOverall (h x w): 31.8 x 19.1 cm (12 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.)

Credit LineGift of Dwight B. and Anna C. Heath in memory of their son David

Accession number2004.2238

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsMasks

Collections

ProvenanceBy 2003, Dwight B. Heath and Anna C. Heath, Providence, RI; 2004, year-end gift of Dwight B. and Anna C. Heath to the MFA [see note]. (Accession Date: February 23, 2005)

NOTE:
According to donor Dwight Heath at the time of the gift, this mask had been in his family's possession for at least 80 years, and was recorded in household inventories of 1876 and 1923. This account has never been verified, and is unlikely to be true. The object was accessioned as a twentieth-century Baule face mask, but is now thought to be inauthentic.