Northwest Indian Art

Masks
Visions of the Unseen Reality

Masks from the Northwest Coast vary in artistic style
and meaning from tribe to tribe, region to region, but all share the common purpose
of transforming mythical realities into dramatic, visible forms. Supernatural human
and animal beings from the land, sea, and air share a sculptural expression with
mythical monsters and creatures from distant, vivid imaginations.

Masks often combine human and animal characteristics, manifesting the coast-wide concept of transformation from one reality to another. Many tribes trace their family ancestries
from particular animals and beings that alighted on earth and removed their animal
'clothing' to become the first humans. On the northern Northwest Coast, Indian doctors,
or shamans, employ masks to make visible the powerful spirits that are their assistants
in taming and exorcising the malevolent spirits that cause disease, misfortune,
and chaos in the natural world.

Shaman's Death Mask (Bird Spirit)
Tlingit

Click for closeup of mask

Carved, pierced and painted wood with inset mother of pearl teeth.
Ca. 1840-1870 H. 8 in.
The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, no. 11/1753 George Terasaki, Andy Warhol, Frederick W. Hughes Sotheby's, The Collection of Frederick W. Hughes New York, Oct. 10, 2001

Carved and painted wood with abalone shell inlaid in the mouth, representing a transformational human/bird spirit that was one of the shaman's eight spiritual assistants. In this otherwise human-like face, the eyes have been carved exaggeratedly large and the nose is sculpted in the form of an abbreviated bird's beak (said to represent a hawk).

During a highly dramatic ritual, the shaman would have donned this mask when calling upon the represented spirit in order to assist in affecting a cure. The abalone shell inlay is indicative of a high-ranking spirit, as this material was acquired through distant trade with Native peoples of California and Mexico.

Written on the back of the mask is a collector's note:
"Hawk Spirit, Tlingit, collected ca. 1919 by George T. Emmons at Peril Straits near Sitka, Alaska".