Mask

Yup'ik, Native American

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 746

Within the bentwood border of this mask, a hunter’s kayak searches for quarry. Near the center of the boat, the face of a humanoid seal spirit emerges, with an unidentified spirit visage above. The tiny bird head at the bow may portray the hunter as seen through the eyes of his prey. Fish and flippers surround the vessel, representing the supernatural animals that slip through the thumbless spirit hands and into the physical world to be hunted.

Mask, Wood, pigment, vegetal fiber, iron nails, and feathers, Yup'ik, Native American

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Mask, Wood, pigment, vegetal fiber, iron nails, and feathers, Yup'ik, Native American
Mask, Wood, pigment, vegetal fiber, iron nails, and feathers, Yup'ik, Native American

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