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Masker's tunic
Grassfields kingdoms
mid-20th century
Object Place: Cameroon
Medium/Technique
Fiber, human hair
Dimensions
Overall: 110 x 88 cm (43 5/16 x 34 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession Number2009.2765
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Africa and Oceania, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
This tunic-shaped gown adorned with tufts of human hair is a common mask garment in the northwestern Grassfields. It most likely belonged to a male "leader mask" in one of the masquerades owned by extended families, but removed from its context it is difficult to assign it to a specific mask persona or chiefdom.
Provenance1970s, sold by Reginald Groux and Yasmina Chenoufi of the Galerie Noir d'Ivoire, Paris, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)