On view
African Art
Suruku (hyena) mask,
late 19th–20th century
Artist unrecorded
Bamana
1998-913
With its stylized, domed forehead, crest between pointed ears, long nose, and rectangular mouth, this hyena mask of the Kore, a high-ranking initiation society in Bamana culture, epitomizes the strong geometric forms prized by European collectors of African art in the mid-twentieth century. Kore society members participated in ceremonies to maintain harmony between humans and the natural world, assigning different animals to carry out various functions. For example, the hyena protected the secrecy of the society’s rituals. When this mask entered the art market, a dealer likely removed encrustations that had accumulated from use during rituals and polished its surface. This intervention, which was likely undertaken to emphasize the mask’s abstract formal elements, produced the dark patina that is visible today.
Information
Title
Suruku (hyena) mask
Dates
late 19th–20th century
Maker
Medium
Wood, colorant, and organic material
Dimensions
50.3 × 15.6 × 17.7 cm (19 13/16 × 6 1/8 × 6 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
The John B. Elliott, Class of 1951, Collection
Object Number
1998-913
Place Made
Africa, Mali
Materials
Techniques
Subject
John B. Elliott (1928-1997), New York, NY by 1997; bequeathed to the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, 1998.
- "Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83., p. 79
-
"The checklist of the John B. Elliott Bequest," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 61 (2002): p. 49-99.
, p. 84 - Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 288 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 340
