African Mask Bookmark - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Stationery, Calendars, and Desktop > Bookmarks

African Mask Bookmark

ENLARGE

The Kwele are a Bantu-speaking people who live in the rain forests of western equatorial Africa in the areas known today as the Republic of Congo and Gabon. During the middle of the 19th century, a smallpox epidemic ravaged the region. To combat the plague, the Kwele developed a complex ritual procedure known as beete. Animal masks, known as ekuk, became an important part of beete ceremonies. Most ekuk feature prominent animal attributes while also maintaining an anthropomorphic face. Our bookmark is based on a ram ekuk from the 19th or 20th century that is now in the Museum’s collection. The original mask is distinguished by the curving horns that gently frame a delicately depicted face. In addition to the ram, the repertoire of ekuk masks in beete ceremonies includes representations of the gorilla and the swallow, as well as other forest birds and animals.

Brass plate, with printed colors. Length 2 5/8 in., width 1 7/8 in.

African Mask Bookmark
10-093953
Member Price: $15.26 each
Non-Member Price: $16.95 each

Quantity:


Map Bookmark 10-093904 Member Price: $15.26 Non-Member Price: $16.95		Mummy Bookmark 10-088177 Member Price: $15.26 Non-Member Price: $16.95

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