Whale Transformation Mask
The impressive whale masks of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples are grand constructions in which the mouth, fins, and tail of a sea mammal are made to move in imitation of a whale swimming. The tail goes up and down, the lateral flippers move in and out, and the great mouth opens. The dorsal fin also moves slightly. The entire mechanism is rigged in such a way that the performer, while carrying the mask on back and shoulders, can manipulate it with his hands much like a puppet and mimic the gestures of a swimming whale. When actively performing, a costume of shredded bark hangs from the mask, hiding the body of the wearer. This example is an unusual type called a transformation mask, in which one creature opens to reveal another. In the whale’s mouth is a large, hook-nosed face, which may be that of the ancestor who interacted with a whale in the mythic past, thereby making the whale the emblem of the family lineage.
Artwork Details
- Title: Whale Transformation Mask
- Date: 19th century
- Geography: Canada, British Columbia
- Culture: Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl)
- Medium: Wood, paint, cord, metal, leather, denim
- Dimensions: H. 19 1/2 × W. 24 1/2 × L. 63 in. (49.5 × 62.2 × 160 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
- Object Number: 1979.206.406
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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Olmec artist(s)
900–400 BCE
Returned to lender
Unrecorded Haida artist
ca. 1810–50
Tsimshian
19th–20th century
Haida
late 19th century
Haida
19th–20th century
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