Mask Item Number: E73332B-0 from the National Museum of Natural History
ILLUS. FIG. 64, P. 87, IN DOWN FROM THE SHIMMERING SKY BY PETER MACNAIR, VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, 1998. IDENTIFIED THERE BY PETER MACNAIR AS MASK REPRESENTING MALE ANCESTOR.Illus. Fig. 18, p. 29 in King, J. C. H. 1979. Portrait masks from the Northwest Coast of America. [New York]: Thames and Hudson. Identified there (p. 28) as "Haida mask of a man. ... this was originally decorated with fur to represent a moustache and beard; the unusual feature is the combination of traditional formline designs with entirely abstract markings around the left eye. Unlike most early nineteenth-century Haida human face masks, this was evidently made for use; at some stage - perhaps before it was collected - it split open and was pinned together again. c. 1800-50."